Income Inequality, Neighbourhood Social Capital and Subjective Well-Being in China: Exploration of a Moderating Effect

Jiawen Huang and Yitong Fang
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Jiawen Huang: School of Public Administration, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China
Yitong Fang: School of Public Administration, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou 510641, China

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 13, 1-18

Abstract: With the continuous global rise in inequality and the growing importance of subjective welfare, the relationship between income inequality and subjective well-being has received increasing attention. This paper focuses on neighbourhood social capital, measured at the individual and community levels, to explore its moderating effect on the association between income inequality and subjective well-being in the context of China, an issue few studies have examined. Using data from the China Labour-force Dynamics Survey and multilevel models, the results show that income inequality measured using three different indicators had a stable and negative association with subjective well-being in China, after controlling for various individual characteristics and aggregate-level factors. Although neighbourhood social capital at the individual level has been proven to promote subjective well-being, a dark side of social capital is also found at the community level. More notably, neighbourhood social capital at the individual level can attenuate the negative impact of income inequality on subjective well-being, especially for vulnerable groups, such as those with low income or low education. How to reasonably guide the community to develop social capital is an important policy implication to attenuate the negative psychological experience of income inequality.

Keywords: subjective well-being; income inequality; neighbourhood social capital; moderating effect; multilevel analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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