People were given $10,000 to find out if money can buy happiness. The results are astonishing

Can money buy happiness? Yes it may, suggests a global study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). The study conducted with the help of PayPal and TED,  looked at the effects of giving $10,000 to 200 people across the world. Researchers found that while money does bring happiness, especially to those in need, the level of happiness differs massively across income levels and regions. 

A Mystery Experiment

For the study, TED invited people to participate in a "mystery experiment" in December 2020. The experiment promised to be exciting, surprising, and possibly stressful and life-changing as well.  

From the sign-ups, a select group of people were sent emails telling them that they would receive $10,000. The money was then sourced from anonymous wealthy donors and distributed via PayPal. The participants were told to spend all of it within three months.

Researchers then recorded the happiness levels of the select group and another group of 100 people who did not get any money. Participants had to rank how satisfied they were with life on a scale of 1 to 7 and how often they experienced positive and negative feelings on a scale of 1 to 5.

Astonishing levels of happiness

In the study, the group that got $10,000 reported significantly higher levels of happiness than those who did not, after three months. Researchers also measured the happiness levels after another three months had passed, and the recipients of the sum still reported higher levels of happiness.

Furthermore, it was found that the happiness levels of those in low-income countries, Brazil, Indonesia, and Kenya, were boosted three times more than the people in high-income countries, Australia, Canada, the U.K., and the U.S.

In terms of individual income levels, people who earned $10,000 a year gained twice as much happiness as those making $100,000 per year. 

In a statement, Ryan Dwyer, a co-author of the study said, "Ten thousand dollars in certain places around the world can really buy you a lot," reported NBC. He added that some participants spend a lot of the money on mortgages or on renovations of their homes.

On the other hand, they found that households with incomes of over $123,000 did not report noticeable improvements in their happiness. Thus, Dwyer suggested that larger sums like a billion-dollar lottery could cause a bigger boost in happiness. 

More money more problems? Research says no

Contrary to popular belief, another study published on PNAS in 2023, found that happiness levels generally increase with rising income. Researchers Matthew A. Killingsworth, and Daniel Kahneman, surveyed 33,391 U.S. citizens, aged between 18 and 65 with a household income of at least $10,000 a year and upwards. 

The participants were asked to report their feelings throughout the day via a specialized app called "Track Your Happiness".

Kahneman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist and psychologist, had previously published a famous study in 2010 that concluded, that “emotional well-being" rises with income but there is no further progress beyond an income level of $75,000 per year. 

However, the analysis of the recent study, found that happiness levels continue to rise with rising income, even in the "high range of incomes", well beyond $200,000 per year (adjusted for inflation), refuting the claims of the 2010 study.