The Rural–Urban Divide in China: Income but Not Happiness?
基于2002年全国住户调查，发现农村居民比收入更高的城市居民更幸福，通过分解分析探究了除绝对收入外的其他幸福决定因素，并讨论了相对收入、不平等、比较参照系和不安全感等解释。
The paper presents subjective well-being functions for urban and rural China, based on a national household survey for 2002. Whereas the vast income disparity between urban and rural households is confirmed, it is found that, remarkably, rural households report higher subjective well-being than do their richer urban counterparts. A decomposition analysis explores the reasons for this reversal. It finds that there are many determinants of happiness other than absolute income, and that the determinants differ in the two sectors. An explanation for the puzzle is advanced in terms of relative concepts, income inequalities, orbits of comparison, and degrees of insecurity. Positive and normative implications are discussed.