Upward or downward comparison? Migrants’ socioeconomic status and subjective wellbeing in Chinese cities

Yuqi Liu, Ye Liu and Yanliu Lin
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Yuqi Liu: Department of Social Work and Social Administration, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Ye Liu: School of Geography and Planning, Sun Yat-sen University, China
Yanliu Lin: Department of Human Geography and Spatial Planning, Utrecht University, The Netherlands

Urban Studies, 2021, vol. 58, issue 12, 2490-2513

Abstract: Understanding the mechanism by which internal migrants evaluate their quality of life is essential for understanding the social integration of migrants into Chinese cities. A few studies have examined the linkages between internal migrants’ objective socioeconomic status and subjective wellbeing in the Chinese context, but they assume that migrants compare themselves with either their sending communities or receiving cities when evaluating their working and living conditions. This paper examines the effect of internal migrants’ objective socioeconomic status on subjective wellbeing in Chinese cities, with a particular focus on the mediating role of perceived living standards relative to multiple reference groups and the differences between first- and second-generation migrants. Multi-level structural equation models are used to analyse data from the 2014 China Labour-force Dynamic Survey. Results from baseline regressions indicate that migrants’ family income is positively associated with their subjective wellbeing in both a direct and an indirect manner, while homeownership in the host city is only related to it in an indirect way. The relationship between family income, homeownership in the host city and subjective wellbeing is significantly mediated by perceived living standards relative to the reference groups of schoolmates, neighbours and local urban residents in the destination city. Results from the comparison between two generations of migrants indicate that only family income is positively associated with the subjective wellbeing of first-generation migrants. By contrast, for second-generation migrants, homeownership in the destination city is indirectly related to subjective wellbeing through perceived living standards relative to local urban residents.

Keywords: China; generational differences; migrants; social comparison; socioeconomic status; subjective wellbeing; 中国; 代际差异; 移民; 社会比较; ç¤¾ä¼šç» æµŽåœ°ä½; ä¸»è§‚å¹¸ç¦ æ„Ÿ (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:58:y:2021:i:12:p:2490-2513

DOI: 10.1177/0042098020954780

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