Why did is the relationship between income growth and happiness different in the two sets of countries? It could be because the Latin American countries are on average poorer than the more advanced economies, or because they are much more unequal. Our data did not present unequivocal answers. What we can say for sure is that it's a fallacy to equate GDP with well-being. It's not a foregone conclusion that growing the economy will make for a happier people.