In Countries With Greater Income Inequality, People At All Income Levels Are Happier

From Columbia Ideas at Work, "Does Inequality Make You Happier? New research shows that the relationship between income inequality and life satisfaction is not as simple as it seems" by Paul Ingram, Kravis Professor of Business at Columbia Business School:

The assumption is widespread in Western countries: income equality is bad. Policymakers from across the political spectrum often base their arguments on this idea, and in recent years it has become embedded in our cultural consciousness. But the relationship between income inequality and happiness turns out to be complicated, and often surprising. As new research by Professor Paul Ingram and Columbia Business School doctoral candidate Ivana Katic shows, people at all income levels are happier, on average, in countries with greater income inequality.