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Happiness and consumption: evidence from China

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  • Zhen Cui

    (California State University Los Angeles)

Abstract

Using the 2012 China Household Finance Survey, this study finds that happiness in China is positively associated with expenditures on status-related and socially motivated goods, not with spending on improving material well-being or primarily intended for procuring material goods. It also reveals that socially motivated consumption has a status element and the effects of different types of consumption on happiness vary with people’s educational background.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhen Cui, 2018. "Happiness and consumption: evidence from China," International Review of Economics, Springer;Happiness Economics and Interpersonal Relations (HEIRS), vol. 65(4), pages 403-419, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:inrvec:v:65:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s12232-018-0303-1
    DOI: 10.1007/s12232-018-0303-1
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    Cited by:

    1. Chenhong Peng, 2023. "Household Consumption and the Discrepancy Between Economic and Subjective Poverty: The Mediating Roles of Perceived Social Status and Social Connectedness," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(5), pages 1703-1727, June.
    2. Ryszard Kata & Magdalena Cyrek & Piotr Cyrek, 2019. "Changes in the level and structure of food expenses in the European Union in the context of increasing household incomes," Economia agro-alimentare, FrancoAngeli Editore, vol. 21(3), pages 709-731.
    3. Choung, Youngjoo & Pak, Tae-Young & Chatterjee, Swarn, 2021. "Consumption and Life Satisfaction: The Korean Evidence," MPRA Paper 115765, University Library of Munich, Germany.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Status; Social; Consumption; Happiness; China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D12 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Consumer Economics: Empirical Analysis
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being

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