社会杂志 ›› 2016, Vol. 36 ›› Issue (4): 157-185.

• 论文 • 上一篇    下一篇

更富裕是否意味着更幸福?基于横截面时间序列数据的分析(2003—2013)

吴菲1,2   

  1. 1. 复旦大学社会学系;
    2. 香港中文大学社会学系
  • 出版日期:2016-07-20 发布日期:2016-07-20
  • 通讯作者: 吴菲 E-mail:gintoolwhale@gmail.com
  • 基金资助:

    本研究获得上海市社科规划青年课题(2012ESH002)资助。

Wealthier and Happier? A Cross-Sectional Time-series Analysis of Easterlin Paradox in China (2003—2013)

WU Hania1,2   

  1. 1. Department of Sociology, Fudan University;
    2. Department of Sociology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • Online:2016-07-20 Published:2016-07-20
  • Supported by:

    This study is supported by the Youth Project of Shanghai Social Science Planning Fund (2012ESH002).

摘要:

四十年前,经济学家伊斯特林提出了“幸福感悖论”:短时期内个人和国家的财富水平与幸福感都正向相关,而在长期背景下,经济增长并不会显著提高整体幸福感水平。本文使用横跨十年的全国代表性横截面时间序列数据直接检验了财富与幸福感的关系,结果证实了“幸福感悖论”。研究发现,虽然在短时期内,无论是家庭人均收入还是省份的人均生产总值都与幸福感有显著的正相关,但在经济高速发展的十年内(2003—2013),省份人均生产总值的变化与幸福感的变化之间并没有显著相关。

关键词: “幸福感悖论”, 横截面时间序列数据, 幸福感, 经济增长

Abstract:

Forty years ago, economist Richard Easterlin proposed the famous “Easterlin Paradox”: within a short period of time, (both individual and national) wealth is positively correlated with happiness;while in the long run, economic growth has no significant impact on general happiness.Subsequent studies observed empirical inconsistencies when applying time-series analysis to examine the long-term relationship between economic growth and happiness. Therefore, time-series evidence have become the focal point to verify the Easterlin Paradox. China's economic boom has brought research interest in relationship between wealth and happiness, yet mostly are on short-term effects. Little effort has been made to provide the core evidence on Easterlin Paradox by analyzing time-series data, a gap this study seeks to fill in.Cross-sectional time-series data, collected from 2003 to 2013 nationwide in China, are used in this study for both short-term and long-term analyses. Major findings support the proposition of the Easterlin Paradox: (1) significant positive correlation is observed between either household income or provincial GRP per capita and happiness, while (2) no significant correlation is observed between the rapid economic growth and the change of general happiness over the ten years from 2003 to 2013. Possible mechanisms are discussed, including but not limited to rising income inequality, increasing urbanization, growing migrant population and degradation of environment.

Key words: happiness, cross-sectional time-series data, economic growth, Easterlin Paradox