Hongfei Du1, Ronnel B King2, Peilian Chi3. 1. Department of Psychology, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China; Social and Health Psychology Research Center, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou, China. Electronic address: dhfpsy@gmail.com. 2. Department of Curriculum and Instruction, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China. 3. Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Macau SAR, China.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Much of the research on the detrimental effects of inequality on well-being is based on cross-sectional surveys, which may have over- or under-estimated the relationship between income inequality and well-being. Moreover, the vast majority of the work comes from Western industrialized contexts but it is not known to what extent the same pattern holds in non-Western developing countries. OBJECTIVE: The current research aims to address these two issues by investigating the longitudinal effects of income inequality on well-being in China. METHOD: We used the China Family Panel Studies dataset in 2010-2014. Our study includes a representative sample of 29,331 residents from 20 provinces in China. The participants completed measures of well-being, including subjective well-being and psychological distress. We examined whether provincial-level income inequality in 2010 predicted individual-level well-being in 2014. RESULTS: Multilevel analyses showed that residents in more unequal provinces had lower subjective well-being and greater psychological distress. The patterns still held, after controlling for baseline well-being and a number of covariates, including age, gender, education, income, ethnicity, marital status, and urban/rural residence. The effects of inequality on well-being differed across socioeconomic groups. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that income inequality has long-term adverse consequences on well-being in a non-Western developing society. Furthermore, its effects are moderated by financial wealth.
BACKGROUND: Much of the research on the detrimental effects of inequality on well-being is based on cross-sectional surveys, which may have over- or under-estimated the relationship between income inequality and well-being. Moreover, the vast majority of the work comes from Western industrialized contexts but it is not known to what extent the same pattern holds in non-Western developing countries. OBJECTIVE: The current research aims to address these two issues by investigating the longitudinal effects of income inequality on well-being in China. METHOD: We used the China Family Panel Studies dataset in 2010-2014. Our study includes a representative sample of 29,331 residents from 20 provinces in China. The participants completed measures of well-being, including subjective well-being and psychological distress. We examined whether provincial-level income inequality in 2010 predicted individual-level well-being in 2014. RESULTS: Multilevel analyses showed that residents in more unequal provinces had lower subjective well-being and greater psychological distress. The patterns still held, after controlling for baseline well-being and a number of covariates, including age, gender, education, income, ethnicity, marital status, and urban/rural residence. The effects of inequality on well-being differed across socioeconomic groups. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that income inequality has long-term adverse consequences on well-being in a non-Western developing society. Furthermore, its effects are moderated by financial wealth.