In a state with greater income inequality, the happiest place to occupy is not at the pinnacle of the income distribution, as one might think, but somewhere in the middle that provides clear vantage points of people like ourselves, a new study suggests.
According to sociologist Tim Liao of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, it’s the ability to compare ourselves with people of similar backgrounds, both people who earn more and others who earn less, that determine how our income affects our happiness – not the absolute amount we earn.
“Contrary to popular belief, more income does not necessarily make people happier. The actual amount a person earns doesn’t matter much in terms of happiness,” Liao said. “People who can make both upward and downward comparisons – especially with others in the same gender and ethno-racial group – are in the best position as far as their subjective well-being.”
Social comparisons drive income s effect on happiness in states with higher inequality eurekalert.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from eurekalert.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Counties with higher proportions of Black or Hispanic residents also had higher rates, the study found, reinforcing earlier research showing the disparate effects of the virus on those communities.
The findings, published last week by JAMA Network Open, were based on county-level data for all 50 states and Washington, D.C. Data sources included the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, USAFacts and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The lead author of the study, Tim Liao, head of the sociology department at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, initiated the study last summer after noticing that economic inequality - a focus of his research for more than 15 years -
A new study has revealed that US counties with higher income inequality faced higher rates of Covid-19 infections and deaths in the first 200 days of the pandemic.The study by researchers at the University of Illinois (UI) and issued on Monday .