Subjective Well-being in Greater China: Broadening the Framing of Citizen Well-being in Public Policy

Abstract

Citizens entrust the government with taking care of their well-being and most governments are committed to improving citizen well-being. Nevertheless, there is a divergence between government and citizen perceived notions of well-being. This divergence largely arises because bureaucratic policy making is rooted in measuring public policy outcomes of citizen well-being in objective indicators that underemphasise the importance of subjective well-being. Using the case of three Greater China societies of China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, this article highlights the importance of socio-psychological factors and subjective perceptions of income inequality in affecting subjective well-being in Greater China. Thus, public policy makers should broaden the framing of well-being in the form of objective and subjective well-being and apply the appropriate policy measures.