NEW YORK - Does money buy happiness? It’s sometimes said that scientists have found no relationship between money and happiness, but that’s a myth, says University of Illinois psychologist Ed Diener.

The connection is complex, he says. But in fact, very rich people rate substantially higher in satisfaction with life than very poor people do, even within wealthy nations, he says.

“There is overwhelming evidence that money buys happiness,” said economist Andrew Oswald of the University of Warwick in England. The main debate, he said, is how strong the effect is.
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