Yes, money can buy happiness — especially if you think you’re making more than other people

Maybe money does buy happiness, after all — especially if you can afford more of it than your pals. 

That’s according to the findings of a recent working paper distributed by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The paper, titled “Keeping up with the Jansens: Causal Peer Effects on Household Spending, Beliefs and Happiness,” used a survey of Dutch households to determine whether believing you’re in better financial standing than your peers can impact your beliefs and behavior. 

The…