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An Analysis of Well-Being Determinants at the City Level in China Using Big Data

Author

Listed:
  • Yukun Zhao

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Feng Yu

    (Xi’an Jiaotong University)

  • Bo Jing

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Xiaomeng Hu

    (Tsinghua University)

  • Ang Luo

    (Weibo Inc)

  • Kaiping Peng

    (Tsinghua University)

Abstract

Prior research shows mixed results on the relationship between well-being and economic growth, and the relationship between well-being and population size, yet consistent associations between well-being and green space. This paper aims to analyse the relationship between city residents’ well-being and three established indicators: economic growth (as measured by GDP per capita), population size, and green space. A Big Data approach based on the lexica used on social media was proposed to develop well-being indicators. Using the 2016 data of Weibo (i.e. the Chinese version of Twitter), this study finds that the relationship between residents’ well-being and GDP per capita and the relationship between residents’ well-being and population size both form inverted U-shaped curves. Specifically, for poor cities, levels of well-being increase as GDP per capita increases. But after peaking at around the median GDP per capita point, levels of well-being drop as the city’s economy continues to increase. Similarly, levels of well-being increase with population size for small cities, but decrease for those cities whose population sizes rank in the top quarter. In contrast, there is a positive relationship between well-being and the percentage of green space for all cities. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Suggested Citation

  • Yukun Zhao & Feng Yu & Bo Jing & Xiaomeng Hu & Ang Luo & Kaiping Peng, 2019. "An Analysis of Well-Being Determinants at the City Level in China Using Big Data," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 143(3), pages 973-994, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:143:y:2019:i:3:d:10.1007_s11205-018-2015-z
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-018-2015-z
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    2. Tiziana CARPI & Airo HINO & Stefano Maria IACUS & Giuseppe PORRO, 2022. "A Japanese Subjective Well-Being Indicator Based on Twitter Data [‘Collective Smile: Measuring Societal Happiness from Geolocated Images’]," Social Science Japan Journal, University of Tokyo and Oxford University Press, vol. 25(2), pages 273-296.
    3. Jantsch, Antje & Piper, Alan, 2024. "An investigation into the relationship between town size and well-being in Latin America and the role of education," MPRA Paper 120565, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    4. Hania Rahimi-Ardabili & Thomas Astell-Burt & Phi-Yen Nguyen & Juan Zhang & Yu Jiang & Guang-Hui Dong & Xiaoqi Feng, 2021. "Green Space and Health in Mainland China: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-22, September.

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