Money may not buy you happiness, but having a happy childhood can make you lots of money.

钱可能买不来快乐，不过若有个快乐的童年，长大后成为富翁的机会会更大。

A study has found that children with a sunny disposition go on to earn more as adults, even if their parents were not educated or high earners. And within the same family, it is the happiest siblings who tend to earn the most.

一项研究表明：童年性格开朗的小孩，长大以后赚钱更多；无论其出生在富贵还是清贫人家。并且，在同一个家族中，最快乐的孩子长大以后赚的最多。

It will come as no surprise to self-made billionaire Sir Richard Branson, who has said in the past he was ‘extremely lucky’ to have had such a happy childhood with ‘wonderful, understanding’ parents.

这项研究结果对白手起家的亿万富翁Richard Branson爵士（维京集团创始人）来说毫不意外。他自己曾说过，童年的自己是个非常幸运的孩子，因为他有一对善解人意的父母。

The study examined the happiness levels of 90,000 children and young adults in the U.S., and compared the data to their levels of income as adults. Even when other factors were taken into account, the economists carrying out the study found that happiness levels when young clearly determined higher earnings in later life.

该研究测试了美国9万个青少年的快乐程度，并与他们成年后的收入相比较。虽然研究里也含有其他影响因素，但经济学家们发现，年少时的快乐指数显著地决定了成年的收入水平。

For example, those whose life satisfaction increased by one point on a scale of one to five at the age of 22 were likely to earn £1,200 more a year by the age of 29.

举个例子：那些22岁时快乐指数上升了1个点（量表范围从1到5）的人们，在29岁时能多赚1200英镑。

Professor Andrew Oswald of Warwick University, the study’s co-author, said: ‘This research provides yet another reason for the need to create an emotionally healthy home environment.’

来自英国华威大学的Andrew Oswald教授是该研究的合作者，说道：“这项研究表明了建立一个健康家庭环境的必要性。”

Economists have long recognised that those with higher incomes tend to be happier, but this is the first study which shows the economic benefits of being happy when young.

经济学家们很早就提出“人越有钱越快乐”的论点，但这项研究次向我们表明了：小时候越快乐，长大就越有钱。

The authors said happier people tended to be more productive which may explain why they were promoted more quickly than their more pessimistic colleagues.

研究者们认为，更快乐的人倾向于更高效，而这也许可以解释为什么快乐的员工往往比消极的同事更容易升职。