近朱者赤:幸福的传染效应——基于CLDS 2014-2016的实证分析

研究他人幸福感对个体幸福感的影响有助于更加全面地理解和评价公共政策的真实效果,如何有效识别幸福感人际传递的因果关系是分析幸福传染效应的核心问题。文章利用2014年和2016年中国劳动力动态调查（CLDS）数据,以社区为参照单位讨论与检验了人际间的幸福传染效应及其作用机制。研究发现：在控制了个人、家庭与社区层面的相关因素后,社区其他人的幸福感对个体幸福感有显著的正向影响。同时,分别以社区其他人的父母教育程度以及受访时间和天气作为工具变量,并进行两阶段最小二乘估计（2SLS）的结果依然支持“幸福会传染”的结论。此外,包括指标、样本和方法调整在内的稳健性检验仍显示结果一致可靠。从群体差异来看,幸福的传染效应更加明显地发生于农村、家庭收入较低,以及自身幸福感和社会资本处于中高水平的群体。幸福在人际间传染的主要渠道有两条：一是个体通过捕捉模仿或认知联想他人的情绪与行为来改变其精神健康与社会信任水平,进而影响其幸福状态;二是他人积极的情绪与反馈有助于社会网络的构建与发展,从而通过促进社会互助影响个体的幸福感。幸福传染效应的存在为完善政策与项目的全面评估、加强社会文化基础设施的建设,以及促进正能量的传播等提供了参考与启示。

The Contagion Effect of Happiness: Empirical Analysis Based on CLDS 2014-2016

A happy life is the pursuit of most people throughout their lives. How to obtain happiness is not only a matter of public concern, but also a subject constantly explored by researchers of happiness economics. The determinants of happiness are diverse and complex, and a number of important factors that deserve further exploration may still be neglected by most scholars, one of which is the happiness of others. Specifically, is happiness contagious from person to person? How to identify the causal effect of interpersonal transmission of happiness is the key problem to analyze the contagion effect of happiness. The reflection problem is common in the study of behavioral contagion or peer effects. In other words, is the behavior of individuals influenced by the others, or is it simply a reflection of the characteristics of the entire group? First, since the individual behaviors of the behaviors of others are synchronous, the happiness of individuals will also affect the happiness of others while being influenced by the happiness of others. Therefore, there could be a reverse causality problem in the contagion effect of happiness. Second, the happiness of different individuals will be affected by their common environment. If we ignore the common environment among the individuals, it may lead to estimation bias in the empirical results. Thirdly, the convergence or correlation of happiness among individuals in a community may be caused by the fact that these individuals have similar characteristics which are difficult to observe. For example, Individuals usually choose whom to live, work and interact with based on their characteristics and preferences. Groups with similar values, mindsets, or personalities are more likely to interact and communicate. As such, the contagion effect of happiness may be due to a common but observable factors in the group. Based on the data of China Labor-force Dynamic Survey (CLDS) in 2014 and 2016, this study discussed and tested the happiness contagion effect between people and its mechanism. The results show that, after controlling for the relevant factors at the levels of individual, family and community, the happiness of others in the community had a significant positive impact on individual happiness. Using the education level of other parents in the community as well as the interview time and weather as the instrumental variables, the results of the two-stage least square estimation (2SLS) still support the conclusion that "happiness is contagious".The robustness of the results is further verified by adjusting the indicators, sample, and methods. From the perspective of group heterogeneity, the contagion effect of happiness is more obvious in the rural areas, families with lower income, and people with higher levels of happiness and social capital. There are two main channels of happiness contagion. First, the mental health and social trust level of individuals will be changed by capturing, imitating or cognitively associating other people's emotional behaviors, so as to affect personal well-being. Second, Positive emotions and feedback from others contribute to the construction and development of social networks, thereby affecting individual well-being by promoting social mutual assistance. The existence of the happiness contagion effect provides reference and inspiration for improving the comprehensive evaluation of policies and projects, strengthening the construction of social and cultural infrastructure, and promoting the spread of positive energy.