Why Economic Growth did not Translate into Increased Happiness: Preliminary Results of a Multilevel Modeling of Happiness in China

Abstract

An influential stream of happiness literature has demonstrated that increased income did not raise individual happiness. Focusing on the case of Chinese society, this research aims to provide some preliminary accounts for the paradoxical observation that economic miracle in the country was not accompanied by more happiness. To this objective, our analysis starts with an investigation of the determinants of happiness in China, where a series of variables, measured both at individual and contextual levels, is incorporated to see the extent to which they explain the variance of personal happiness. Based on the findings derived from the multilevel statistical modeling, the research then moved forward to explore whether they have a clue for the happiness-income paradox in China. In particular, the research finds that social comparison and hedonic adaptation could be potential reasons for the happiness-income paradox in China. Furthermore, the empirical analysis provides novel clues on the ‘China puzzle’ by identifying the potential role of the adverse trends in other variables beyond income, which involves expanding social capital deficit, growing social inequality, and work-life imbalance.