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Income, Social Capital, and Subjective Well-Being of Residents in Western China

Author

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  • Jun Zhang

    (School of Humanities and Social science, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 28 Xianning West Road, Xi’an 710049, China)

  • Jinchen Xie

    (School of Humanities and Social science, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 28 Xianning West Road, Xi’an 710049, China)

  • Xinyi Zhang

    (School of Humanities and Social science, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 28 Xianning West Road, Xi’an 710049, China)

  • Jianke Yang

    (School of Humanities and Social science, Xi’an Jiaotong University, No. 28 Xianning West Road, Xi’an 710049, China)

Abstract

Many scholars focus on China’s booming economy and its social impacts, while there is little attention regarding subjective well-being, especially after considering income and social capital. Therefore, the purpose of this paper was to examine the correlations between income, social capital and subjective well-being of western Chinese residents, basing on a representative comprehensive social survey. Several meaningful conclusions are shown below: (1) Western residents in China retain a relatively high degree of subjective well-being on average, and the mean value of subjective well-being for urban residents is slightly higher than that for rural residents; (2) there are regional and group differences in the influence of income and social capital on residents’ subjective well-being; and (3), although economic factors play a primary role in subjective well-being, the potential influence of non-economic factors cannot be ignored. This paper attempts to fill the gap in perspective regarding potential correlations between income, social capital, and subjective well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Jun Zhang & Jinchen Xie & Xinyi Zhang & Jianke Yang, 2022. "Income, Social Capital, and Subjective Well-Being of Residents in Western China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-11, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:15:p:9141-:d:871860
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    References listed on IDEAS

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