收入对主观幸福感的影响-国际的经验与国内的证据

本文对国内外有关收入与主观幸福感关系的文献进行了整理、回顾和评述,大部分研究表明绝对收入对主观幸福感有一定的影响,但对主观幸福感的影响力及其与主观幸福感的相关程度比较低,而且随着收入层次高低不同而表现出显著的差异,跨时的研究表明,主观幸福感并没有随着收入的增加而快速的增长.相对收入、相对剥夺对主观幸福感起决定作用,和绝对收入相比,它们对主观幸福感的影响程度更大,相关性也更强.通过对现有成果的简单总结,从中可以得到重要的启示.     

收入、工作单位与主观幸福感——基于武汉市城镇居民的调查分析

基于2007年武汉市城镇居民的主观幸福感数据,本文对收入、工作单位与主观幸福感之间的关系进行考察。研究结果表明,绝对收入对主观幸福感有显著的正影响,而收入差距对主观幸福感有负影响,收入-幸福悖论并不成立。同时,在控制其他因素后,与在政府机关及国企事业单位工作的个体相比,在其他单位工作的群体的主观幸福感水平更低;如果考虑不同工作单位对个体主观幸福感所产生的影响,随着在其他单位工作的人的收入增加,由于工作单位的性质差异导致的主观幸福感差异在两者之间逐渐缩小。     

刍议收入与国民幸福感

与古典经济学相比,新古典经济学从主观意义上理解和使用"效用".这就是说经济增长和人均收入的提高并没有带来国民幸福程度的上升.因为人们的幸福感是受很多因素的综合影响,诸如期望、收入分配等因素.本文旨在分析影响人们幸福感的因素和如何增进人们的幸福感.     

刍议收入与国民幸福感

与古典经济学相比,新古典经济学从主观意义上理解和使用”效用”。这就是说经济增长和人均收入的提高并没有带来国民幸福程度的上升。因为人们的幸福感是受很多因素的综合影响,诸如期望、收入分配等因素。本文旨在分析影响人们幸福感的因素和如何增进人们的幸福感。     

收入不平等、社会犯罪与国民幸福感-来自中国的经验证据

本文利用世界价值观调查数据,对中国收入不平等与居民主观幸福感之间的关系及其作用机制进行了实证研究。结论发现,中国的收入不平等对居民的主观幸福感有显著的负面影响,而且它对农村居民和低收入者的负面影响要显著大于城市居民和高收入者。此外,收入不平等除了自身对居民的幸福感有显著负面影响外,还通过社会犯罪间接地对居民的幸福感产生负面影响。     

谁是幸福的?——个体特征、外部环境与主观幸福感

幸福是人们对生活满意程度的一种主观感受和心理体验,而个体特征与外部环境是理解幸福内涵的两个核心维度。本文从个体特性、个体状况、社会活动以及社会环境等四类因素出发考察了中国居民主观幸福感的决定因素。研究结果表明:总体上来看,与个体特征相关的年龄、性格、收入与健康等因素,以及与外部环境相关的对社会收入不平等程度的评价及对民主化进程的满意程度,与居民的主观幸福感之间有着显著的关系。如果不考虑年龄因素,在其他所有与居民主观幸福感有显著关系的因素中,居民的性格因素的作用高于其他因素。收入因素的边际作用高于收入不平等的因素,不过相对于其他因素,收入因素和收入不平等因素的边际作用是最小的。     

幸福,赚钱还是花钱??

文章从理论和实证角度研究了幸福函数,对比考察了货币因素中的消费与收入对个人主观幸福感的影响。研究发现,货币因素的具体数值以及相对变化对个人主观幸福感均具有显著影响,无论是消费还是收入的增加都能显著提升个人幸福感,而花钱比赚钱更有利于提升个人幸福感。由于家庭的初始货币因素存在差异,以及受环境适应惯性和棘轮效应影响,相对于收入不平等的变动,个人幸福感对消费不平等的变动更加敏感;相对于就业样本,非就业样本对货币因素的变动更加敏感。“幸福没有那么容易,才会特别让人着迷”,在收入分配与再分配过程中注重居民家庭相对地位的改善,引导理性消费,满足消费需求,考虑异质性,则有利于提升国民幸福。     

收入增长和收入分配对城市减贫的影响

本文基于对贫困的分解,运用贫困弹性的动态特征,选取《中国统计年鉴》相关年份城市住户分组数据,深入分析收入增长和收入分配因素对中国1991-2009年间城市绝对贫困和相对贫困的影响。结果表明:(1)高速的经济增长对我国城市绝对贫困率下降起决定性作用,但收入分配恶化对城市相对贫困率上升有显著影响。(2)收入水平越高,则收入因素对城市减贫的促进作用越强,且分配因素所引起的贫困变动越大;收入分配越不平等,则收入因素对城市减贫的促进作用越弱,且分配因素所引起的贫困变动越小。因此,我国今后的城市减贫,应在继续保持经济较快增长的同时,以改善收入分配不平等为重点。     

收入与幸福感关系研究述评

收入增长一直是经济理论分析与政策实践的依归，但收入增长并不意味着幸福感程度的提升。本文基于现有文献，对收入与幸福感的关系以及影响幸福感的若干非收入因素进行了述评，并讨论了收入与幸福感的关系对于我国构建和谐生活的启示。     

中国居民主观幸福感影响因素分析——一个综合分析框架

利用世界价值观调查数据,分析近20年来中国居民主观幸福感变化,发现中国存在"收入-幸福悖论"现象。构建一个基于人口学、经济、家庭、工作、人际关系和情感等因素的综合框架分析发现,这些因素对主观幸福感均有显著影响,经济、家庭、工作因素对主观幸福感的影响较大,收入高、信任家庭、对工作满意、人际关系和谐、情感积极的人幸福感较强。这表明,经济发展到一定阶段后,必须大力推进社会发展与文明进步,科学协调好发展经济与满足居民不断提升的多层次需求之间的关系,进而切实增进居民幸福感。     

Income inequality,corruption and subjective well-being

ABSTRACT

Based on the data of CGSS2013, we analyse the relationship between income inequality, corruption and subjective well being using an Ordered Probit model. Our results indicate that income inequality and corruption significantly reduces the subjective well-being of our country’s residents. Furthermore, corruption is an important channel for the negative effect of income inequality on subjective well-being, the impact of income inequality on subjective well-being is mainly achieved by the role of corruption. Specifically, the impacts vary according to hukou. Higher degree of income inequality indeed reduces the subjective well-being of urban residents, while it has a positive effect on subjective well-being of rural residents. Corruption has a significant negative impact on the subjective well-being of urban and rural residents. There is heterogeneity in the influence of different income levels in rural areas. The study in this paper shows that anti-corruption and narrowing the income gap are the two major grippers to improve the well-being of the residents.     

Income growth,redistribution, and subjective well-being in Taiwan – a simulation study

This study simulates different income growth and income distribution scenarios in Taiwan in 2001, and examines how social happiness and people's happiness at different income levels change. Without taking downward comparison into consideration, the simulation supports income redistribution in favour of the poor. When the downward comparison is taken into consideration, the simulation does not support any kind of income redistribution. The present study investigates the relationship between income inequality and subjective well-being, and shows that a change in the Gini index can be interpreted in terms of a shift in revealed subjective well-being.     

Income comparison,gender roles and life satisfaction

This article uses data from the German Socio-Economic Panel to analyse the effect of within household income comparison on individual life satisfaction. Our within couple and individual fixed-effects panel estimates suggest that gender roles influence subjective well-being (SWB). A primary breadwinner wife decreases a couple’s individual happiness by eight per cent. The article adds to the findings on interdependence of SWB and hints at negative consequences of traditional gender identity norms for individual happiness.     

Household Income Inequality and Income Mobility: Implications Towards Equalizing Longer-Term Incomes in India

This paper addresses three important questions. First, what are the trends, levels and sources of income inequality in India? Second, how have been the patterns of income mobility? And finally, exploring the relationship between income mobility and income inequality in the context of India. Results, based on recent India Human Development Survey (IHDS) longitudinal data, advocate that not only is income inequality very high, nonetheless, it has increased – mainly attributable to different income sources – in India. The paper also focused on whether or not this income mobility equalizes longer-term incomes. Results suggest income mobility has resulted in-albeit not robust- equalizing longer-term incomes. Thus, based on imperative findings, the paper suggests, the nature of longer-term well-being is crucial to designing policy interventions to effectively tackle inequality and in this context, economic mobility can be seen as an avenue to long-term equality.     

The Effects of Relative Income and Absolute Income on Happiness

The authors consider the absolute income effect and several relative income effects on happiness. The latter include both a longitudinal comparison, which consists of both upward and downward comparisons, and a parallel comparison with individuals of similar traits. It is found that the longitudinal comparison and parallel comparison exist simultaneously, although the downward comparison is insignificant. However, the symmetry of the upward comparison, downward comparison, and parallel comparison cannot be rejected. Because the absolute income effect and the relative income effects countervail, the effect of income growth on subjective well-being is likely to be negligible.     

When income differences hurt or excite: The nonlinear effect of regional inequality on subjective wellbeing

Combining information from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions and the European Social Survey, we investigate the relationship between subjective well-being and income inequality using regional inequality indicators and individual data. We assume that inequality aversion and perception of social mobility affect the impact of regional inequality on subjective well-being in opposite directions. We find evidence of an inverse U-shaped effect of inequality, where inequality starts to have a positive effect on subjective well-being that becomes negative with a switch point before the average of the Gini index for the entire sample. The rationale for our nonlinear finding is that Hirschman's tunnel effect (and the positive effect of perceived social mobility) prevails for low levels of inequality, while inequality aversion and negative relative income effects are relatively stronger when inequality is higher. Robustness checks on different sample splits are consistent with the hypothesis of the two drivers.     

Local Area Inequality and Worker Well-Being

This paper uses General Social Survey data linked to Census data to investigate the effect of local area income and income inequality on worker well-being. Others have found a robust negative correlation between reference group income and self-reported well-being. However, in many cases the reference group is defined as a large geographic area. This paper adds to the literature in two ways. First, it considers multiple nested geographic reference groups with US data. Second, it explicitly considers income inequality in addition to the level of income. It is found that both income and income inequality are positively associated with well-being at the census tract level, but negatively associated at the county level. Further, the effect of inequality on well-being decreases as income increases at the census tract and county level, while it increases at the state level.     

Growth, income distribution and well-being in transition countries

We apply several well-being measures that combine average income with a measure of inequality to international and intertemporal comparisons of well-being in transition countries. Our well-being measures drastically change the impression of levels and changes in well-being compared to a traditional reliance on income measures. Due to low inequality and moderate income levels, socialist countries enjoyed relatively high levels of economic well-being. In the transition process, rising inequality and falling incomes have led to a dramatic absolute decline in well-being and a considerable drop in relative well-being vis-à-vis non-transition countries. We also find a close correlation between income losses and inequality increases. While the transition has been successful in expanding political and civil rights, our indicators suggest that most transition countries are still below the level of economic well-being of the late 1980s.
JEL classification: D6, O15, P27.     

Income or Consumption: Which Better Predicts Subjective Well‐Being?

The positive relationship between income and subjective well‐being has been well documented. However, work assessing the relationship of alternative material well‐being metrics to subjective well‐being (SWB) is limited. Consistent with the permanent income hypothesis, we find that a consumption‐based measure out‐performs (surveyed) income in predicting subjective well‐being. When objective measures of consumption are combined with self‐assessments of a household’s standard of living, income becomes insignificant altogether. We obtain our result utilizing household‐level data from Statistics New Zealand’s New Zealand General Social Survey which contains measures of income, SWB and a measure of material well‐being called the Economic Living Standard Index that combines measures of consumption flows and self‐assessments of material well‐being.