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Quality of Life in Chinese Cities

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  • Shi, Tie
  • Zhu, Wenzhang
  • Fu, Shihe

Abstract

The Rosen-Roback spatial equilibrium theory states that cross-city variations in wages and housing prices reflect urban residents’ willingness to pay for urban amenities or quality of life. This paper is the first to quantify and rank the quality of life in Chinese cities based on the Rosen-Roback model. Using the 2005 1% Population Intercensus Survey data, we estimate the wage and housing hedonic models. The coefficients of urban amenity variables in both hedonic models are considered the implicit prices of amenities and are used as the weights to compute the quality of life for each prefecture city in China. In general, provincial capital cities and cities with nice weather, convenient transportation, and better public services have a higher quality of life. We also find that urban quality of life is positively associated with the subjective well-being of urban residents.

Suggested Citation

  • Shi, Tie & Zhu, Wenzhang & Fu, Shihe, 2021. "Quality of Life in Chinese Cities," MPRA Paper 105266, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    • Handle: RePEc:pra:mprapa:105266
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    2. Mariusz J. Ligarski & Tomasz Owczarek, 2024. "Preparing Quality of Life Surveys Versus Using Information for Sustainable Development: The Example of Polish Cities," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 173(3), pages 765-782, July.
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    5. Wei Zou & Jingjing Li & Zhe Shu, 2022. "Urban Quality of Life and Production Amenity in Chinese Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-32, February.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Spatial equilibrium; hedonic model; urban amenity; quality of life; life satisfaction;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • H44 - Public Economics - - Publicly Provided Goods - - - Publicly Provided Goods: Mixed Markets
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J61 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Mobility, Unemployment, Vacancies, and Immigrant Workers - - - Geographic Labor Mobility; Immigrant Workers
    • R13 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General Equilibrium and Welfare Economic Analysis of Regional Economies
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • R31 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Real Estate Markets, Spatial Production Analysis, and Firm Location - - - Housing Supply and Markets

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