Though I agree that the marginal utility of income drops a lot after some threshold, and I am not sure about how long people take to adjust their lifestyles to a drop in income, I would like to see a study taking into account the effects of wealth, savings and uncertainty. So yeah, maybe you’ll be equally happy if you earn 75k or 100k, but in the latter you’ll be better hedged against risks and be able to get additional utility by investing in someone else’s welfare (your relatives, or donations).
Though I agree that the marginal utility of income drops a lot after some threshold, and I am not sure about how long people take to adjust their lifestyles to a drop in income, I would like to see a study taking into account the effects of wealth, savings and uncertainty. So yeah, maybe you’ll be equally happy if you earn 75k or 100k, but in the latter you’ll be better hedged against risks and be able to get additional utility by investing in someone else’s welfare (your relatives, or donations).