Spending - Publications - Faculty & Research

11 Sep 2016
News

How to Get More Pleasure Out of Retirement Spending

February 2011
Article

It's the Recipient That Counts: Spending Money on Strong Social Ties Leads to Greater Happiness Than Spending on Weak Social Ties

By: Lara B. Aknin, Gillian M. Sandstrom, Elizabeth W. Dunn and Michael I. Norton

Previous research has shown that spending money on others (prosocial spending) increases happiness. But, do the happiness gains depend on who the money is spent on? Sociologists have distinguished between strong ties with close friends and family and weak... View Details

Keywords: Happiness; Relationships; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

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2010
Working Paper

Prosocial Spending and Well-Being: Cross-Cultural Evidence for a Psychological Universal

By: Lara B. Aknin, Christopher P. Barrington-Leigh, Elizabeth W. Dunn, John F. Helliwell, Robert Biswas-Diener, Imelda Kemeza, Paul Nyende, Claire Ashton-James and Michael I. Norton

This research provides the first support for a possible psychological universal: human beings around the world derive emotional benefits from using their financial resources to help others (prosocial spending). Analyzing survey data from 136 countries, we show that... View Details

Keywords: Spending; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Happiness; Motivation and Incentives; Welfare; Uganda; Canada

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02 Oct 2015
News

Think Money Can’t Buy Happiness? Try Spending It Differently

17 Nov 2009
News

HBS Faculty on Holiday Consumer Spending

Keywords: Professors Nancy Koehn and Rajiv Lal

29 Jul 2013
Video

Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending - Buying Experiences

18 May 2013
News

Money might buy you happiness, if you spend it right

28 Apr 2021
Research & Ideas

Remote Workers Spend More on Housing. Do They Deserve Higher Pay?

To executives expecting to save on office space when some employees continue working remotely post-pandemic: Not so fast. Makeshift desks and kitchen tables have sufficed for many people working from home to avoid COVID-19. However, permanently remote workers tend to... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

23 Sep 2010
News

How Did You Spend Your Summer Vacation?

were given the gift of a “free” summer as a young MBA student, how and where would you spend it? Any countries you would add to the list of 2011 IXPs? And lest you think all HBS students spent their summers engaged in focused work... View Details

Keywords: Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

04 Jan 2010
News

Seduced into spending thousands on lottery tickets

26 May 2010
News

Government Spending May Hurt the Private Sector

18 Oct 2010
News

What Not to Spend Your Time On

16 Aug 2013
News

Happy Money: The Science of Smarter Spending - Investing in Others

24 Oct 2011
News

Top 'Innovators' Rank Low in R&D Spending

26 Jan 2022
News

Intel’s $100B Ohio Dilemma: Why It Must Spend a Lot Now to Avoid Spending More Later

11 Sep 2017
News

If You Want to Feel Better, Spend Money on Saving Time

31 Jan 2018
Research & Ideas

American Idle: Workers Spend Too Much Time Waiting for Something to Do

Paul Bradbury American workers are usually a pretty busy bunch, yet their time spent idle costs employers an estimated $100 billion per year, according to a new study from Harvard Business School. “We suspected idle time might be more prevalent than most people would... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding