Income growth and happiness growth in China

Chuliang Luo

Economic and Political Studies, 2017, vol. 5, issue 3, 266-284

Abstract: Using household surveys conducted by the China Household Income Project (CHIP) in 2002 and 2013, changes in happiness are examined within rural, urban and migrant populations. During the survey period, happiness increased for urban and migrant groups but decreased for the rural population, accompanying dramatic income growth for all. Personal income positively and significantly affected happiness, but the effects of comparison income were different among the three groups. The income-happiness correlations declined from 2002 to 2013. Declining happiness in rural China can be primarily explained by weakened income-happiness relations and worsening health conditions. The happiness growth in urban areas mainly resulted from income growth, although the personal income effect on happiness was partly offset by the comparison income effect. The increasing happiness in migrants was mainly derived from income growth.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1080/20954816.2017.1345153

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