But how does money affect how people live their lives? The Kahneman and Deaton study found that money has less of an effect on how people live their lives above incomes of $75,000 in the U.S. And the Purdue and University of Virginia researchers found the cap for emotional wellbeing was about $60,000 to $75,000 worldwide.

The variables these researchers looked at included self-reported enjoyment, smiling and laughing, rest, feelings of respect, and intellectual stimulation. They also looked at negative emotions like self-reported anger, stress, sadness, physical pain and worry. The same ones featured in Gallup’s latest Global Emotions Report, released today.

So, if life isn’t about getting rich, then where do the happiest people in the world live? This report suggests they might live in Latin America. Latin Americans may not always rate their lives the best (in contrast to the Nordic countries), but they laugh, smile and experience enjoyment like no one else in the world.