Relative Income and Subjective Well-Being of Urban Residents in China

Jichao Wang (), Wei Yan () and Jie Zhang ()
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Jichao Wang: Central University of Finance and Economics
Wei Yan: Central University of Finance and Economics
Jie Zhang: Central University of Finance and Economics

Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 2019, vol. 40, issue 4, No 8, 673-680

Abstract: Abstract The purposes of this study are to examine subjective well-being and to test its correlation with social reference and self-expectations of urban residents in China. Data are obtained from the 2015 Chinese General Social Survey, and we focus on urban residents (N = 4857). Because the dependent variable is a sequence variable, the ordered logit model is used for data analysis. We find that absolute income remains an important factor in determining people’s subjective well-being. We also find that when relative income factors are included, the correlation between absolute income and subjective well-being is reduced. This suggests that the subjective well-being of urban residents is influenced not only by absolute income itself, but also—more importantly—by relative income based on social comparison and self-expectations. These findings have implications for the formulation of social policies to improve citizens’ happiness.

Keywords: Subjective well-being; Relative income; Social reference; Self-expectation; Urban residents (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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DOI: 10.1007/s10834-019-09636-0

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