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Click it and buy happiness: does online shopping improve subjective well-being of rural residents in China?

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  • Hongyun Zheng
  • Wanglin Ma

Abstract

There is a growing trend for rural residents to shop online, but little is known about how online shopping is associated with their subjective well-being. To fill this gap, in this study, we estimate the impact of online shopping on the subjective well-being of rural residents, using survey data collected from China. An endogenous ordered probit (EOP) model is employed to address the selection bias associated with online shopping. The empirical results reveal that online shopping significantly increases rural residents’ happiness and life satisfaction. The more rural residents spend on online shopping, the happier they are. Disaggregated analysis indicates that online shopping has greater positive impacts on the subjective well-being of lower-income residents (at household income tertile 1), relative to their higher-income counterparts (at household income tertiles 2–3). Our findings suggest that developing rural-targeted online shopping markets can improve the subjective well-being of rural residents and boost rural consumption upgrading.

Suggested Citation

  • Hongyun Zheng & Wanglin Ma, 2021. "Click it and buy happiness: does online shopping improve subjective well-being of rural residents in China?," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(36), pages 4192-4206, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:53:y:2021:i:36:p:4192-4206
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2021.1897513
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    Cited by:

    1. Zheng, Hongyun & Vatsa, Puneet & Ma, Wanglin & Zhou, Xiaoshou, 2023. "Working hours and job satisfaction in China: A threshold analysis," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    2. Moh Shadiqur Rahman & Novil Dedy Andriatmoko & Moh Saeri & Herman Subagio & Afrizal Malik & Joko Triastono & Renie Oelviani & Juliana C. Kilmanun & Helena da Silva & Marietje Pesireron & Rein Estefanu, 2022. "Climate Disasters and Subjective Well-Being among Urban and Rural Residents in Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-14, March.
    3. Hari Wahyu Wijayanto & Kai-An Lo & Hery Toiba & Moh Shadiqur Rahman, 2022. "Does Agroforestry Adoption Affect Subjective Well-Being? Empirical Evidence from Smallholder Farmers in East Java, Indonesia," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-10, August.
    4. Junpeng Li & Puneet Vatsa & Wanglin Ma, 2023. "Small Acts With Big Impacts: Does Garbage Classification Improve Subjective Well-Being in Rural China?," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 18(3), pages 1337-1363, June.
    5. Ma, Wanglin & Vatsa, Puneet & Zheng, Hongyun, 2022. "Cooking fuel choices and subjective well-being in rural China: Implications for a complete energy transition," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    6. Wanglin Ma & Christopher Gan & Puneet Vatsa & Wei Yang & Hongyun Zheng, 2022. "Factors affecting online shopping frequency: lessons from New Zealand," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 2(6), pages 1-10, June.
    7. Mabe, Franklin Nantui & Dauda, Ayuba & Owusu-Sekyere, Ebenezer, 2023. "Artisanal small-scale mining, farm labour attraction and household welfare in Ghana," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    8. Wanglin Ma & Puneet Vatsa & Hongyun Zheng & Emmanuel Donkor & Victor Owusu, 2023. "Does Adoption of Information and Communication Technology Reduce Objective and Subjective Well-Being Inequality? Evidence from China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 169(1), pages 55-77, September.
    9. Tri Wahyu Nugroho & Nuhfil Hanani & Hery Toiba & Sujarwo Sujarwo, 2022. "Promoting Subjective Well-Being among Rural and Urban Residents in Indonesia: Does Social Capital Matter?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-16, February.
    10. Cristiano Felaco & Anna Parola, 2022. "Subjective Well-Being and Future Orientation of NEETs: Evidence from the Italian Sample of the European Social Survey," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-13, October.
    11. Wang, Jiawei, 2023. "The relationship between loneliness and consumer shopping channel choice: Evidence from China," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    12. Wei, Binhui & Zhao, Chunkai & Luo, Mingzhong, 2024. "Online markets, offline happiness: E-commerce development and subjective well-being in rural China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    13. Ma, Wanglin & Ma, Wanglin & Zheng, Hongyun, 2021. "Impacts of Cooking Fuel Choices on Subjective Well-Being: Insights from Rural China," 2021 Conference, August 17-31, 2021, Virtual 315149, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    14. Li, Junpeng & Ma, Wanglin & Gong, Binlei, 2023. "Market participation and subjective well-being of maize farmers," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 941-960.
    15. Yang, Wei & Vatsa, Puneet & Ma, Wanglin & Zheng, Hongyun, 2023. "Does mobile payment adoption really increase online shopping expenditure in China: A gender-differential analysis," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 99-110.
    16. Xiuling Ding & Qian Lu & Lipeng Li & Apurbo Sarkar & Hua Li, 2022. "Evaluating the Impact of Institutional Performance and Government Trust on Farmers’ Subjective Well-Being: A Case of Urban–Rural Welfare Gap Perception and Family Economic Status in Shaanxi, Sichuan a," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-20, December.

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