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Measurement and Analysis of Well-Being in Developed Regions in China

Author

Listed:
  • Almas Heshmati

    (Department of Economics, Sogang University, 35 Baekbeom-ro (Sinsu-dong #1), Mapo-gu, Seoul 121-742, Korea)

  • Biwei Su

    (#x2020;Department of Food and Resource Economics, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Korea University, East Building, Anam-dong Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 136-713, Korea)

  • Seon-Ae Kim

    (#x2020;Department of Food and Resource Economics, College of Life Science and Biotechnology, Korea University, East Building, Anam-dong Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 136-713, Korea)

Abstract

The need for studies on well-being in China has increased in recent years. However, women’s well-being is an area that has not received adequate attention. The purpose of this research is to have a clear understanding of how well women have compared with men on the whole in Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangdong — the three developed provinces in China. To achieve this, we computed and compared the well-being of 4,367 women and men by utilizing the latest survey data of 2009 from the Chinese Family Panel Studies. We have measured well-being by computing multidimensional indices which are dependent on five domains: material and educational well-being, health, behavior and risks, family and peer relationships, and subjective well-being. These domains were aggregated either with the same weights or with different weights estimated by the principal component analysis. The findings suggest that, generally, men have a higher level of well-being than women in all these three provinces in China. Also, the domains of behavior and risks as well as material and educational well-being contribute most to individuals’ well-being. Furthermore, women score much lower than men do in subjective well-being.

Suggested Citation

  • Almas Heshmati & Biwei Su & Seon-Ae Kim, 2015. "Measurement and Analysis of Well-Being in Developed Regions in China," China Economic Policy Review (CEPR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 4(01), pages 1-22, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:wsi:ceprxx:v:04:y:2015:i:01:n:s1793969015500065
    DOI: 10.1142/S1793969015500065
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    Cited by:

    1. Sijia Liu & Almas Heshmati, 2023. "Relationship between education and well-being in China," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 25(1), pages 123-151, June.

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