Previous research on the relation between wealth and life satisfaction has found conflicting results. The current study aims to bring a “wave formation” framework to the subjective well-being literature to understand the features of non-linearity in the income-life satisfaction association. The study compares individuals’ life satisfaction at various wealth levels, moving their way up or down through the income stratum. We hypothesize that when someone with increasing income reaches the top of one stratum their satisfaction is high, but when they move from the top of one stratum to the bottom of the next their satisfaction declines, leading to a wave pattern. Using a cross-sectional design for the dataset of 1654 respondents in Azerbaijan, we apply the Ordered Logit method to identify the income borders of ups-and-downs in the “wave." Threshold levels for each wave element are then calculated separately for males and females after controlling for a set of individual-specific factors. Empirical results support the hypothesis, with life satisfaction following a wave formation. The research findings have implications for policymakers and future research.

先前关于财富与生活满意度之间关系的研究发现了相互矛盾的结果。目前的研究旨在为主观幸福感文献引入一个“波浪形成”框架，以了解收入-生活满意度关联中的非线性特征。该研究比较了个人在不同财富水平上的生活满意度，在收入阶层中上下移动。我们假设，当收入增加的人到达一个阶层的顶端时，他们的满意度很高，但当他们从一个阶层的顶端移到下一个阶层的底部时，他们的满意度就会下降，从而导致波动。对阿塞拜疆 1654 名受访者的数据集使用横截面设计，我们应用有序 Logit 方法来确定“波浪”中起伏的收入边界。然后，在控制了一组特定于个体的因素后，针对男性和女性分别计算每个波元素的阈值水平。实证结果支持这一假设，即波浪形成后的生活满意度。研究结果对政策制定者和未来研究具有重要意义。