IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/intsec/v21y2026i2p163-175.html

Housing Security, Relative Deprivation, and Subjective Well‐Being: Empirical Evidence Derived From CFPS Data

Author

Listed:
  • Lingzhen Yao
  • Bei Qiao
  • Yuhan Hu

Abstract

The housing issue significantly influences individuals' well‐being. As a crucial mechanism for alleviating the housing issue, the housing security system has garnered increasing attention regarding its impact on residents' happiness. Utilizing data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this paper seeks to thoroughly investigate the effect of housing security on residents' subjective well‐being and examine the mediating role and regulatory mechanisms of relative deprivation, particularly concerning income and consumption factors. The findings reveal that (1) compared to uninsured families, those with access to housing security experience a marked enhancement in overall happiness levels, indicating that the housing security system exerts a positive marginal effect on improving happiness among covered households. (2) Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the beneficial impact of housing security on subjective well‐being is consistent across various age groups, with the most pronounced effects observed in individuals aged 26–40. For households facing low housing affordability, there exists a significantly positive correlation between housing security and subjective well‐being—this relationship is even stronger than indicated by baseline regression results. Regional analyses demonstrate that housing security positively affects residents' subjective well‐being in eastern and central China but negatively impacts those in western regions; notably, this effect is significant only for eastern Chinese residents. (3) Further exploration revealed that first, housing security substantially mitigates families' sense of income relative deprivation which subsequently enhances their subjective well‐being; second, after controlling for household consumption disparities, we observe an increase in the coefficient associated with housing security compared to baseline regression outcomes—suggesting that differences in household consumption may attenuate the positive influence of housing security on happiness. This research not only elucidates the tangible effects of existing housing policies but also provides empirical evidence and theoretical support for government efforts aimed at formulating more precise policies designed to enhance residents' satisfaction.

Suggested Citation

  • Lingzhen Yao & Bei Qiao & Yuhan Hu, 2026. "Housing Security, Relative Deprivation, and Subjective Well‐Being: Empirical Evidence Derived From CFPS Data," International Studies of Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 21(2), pages 163-175, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:intsec:v:21:y:2026:i:2:p:163-175
    DOI: 10.1002/ise3.70010
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/ise3.70010
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/ise3.70010?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Li, Han & Li, Jiangyi & Lu, Yi & Xie, Huihua, 2020. "Housing wealth and labor supply: Evidence from a regression discontinuity design," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    2. Grant Duncan, 2010. "Should Happiness-Maximization be the Goal of Government?," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 11(2), pages 163-178, April.
    3. Chen, Zhe & Li, Xiaojing & Zhang, Jizhou & Xia, Xianli, 2024. "Does digital finance alleviate household consumption inequality? Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    4. Gu, Yao & Zhu, Xingui, 2024. "Homeownership and household risky asset holdings: Moderating role of social security and the mediating role of subjective well-being," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    5. González, F. & Baeza, F. & Valdebenito, R. & Sánchez, B.N. & Diez-Roux, A. & Vives, A., 2024. "Improvements in habitability and housing satisfaction after dwelling regeneration in social housing complexes. The RUCAS study," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 355(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Wang, Pengcheng & Yang, Xuelin, 2024. "Social trust and household financial decision-making: An empirical study based on the usage of household financial technology," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    2. Zhang, Chang & Yao, Bo & Zhang, Chenjing, 2025. "Basic public service equalization and household risk investment behavior," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    3. Scott Cloutier & Lincoln Larson & Jenna Jambeck, 2014. "Are sustainable cities “happy” cities? Associations between sustainable development and human well-being in urban areas of the United States," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 16(3), pages 633-647, June.
    4. Néstor Gandelman & Rafael Porzecanski, 2013. "Happiness Inequality: How Much is Reasonable?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 110(1), pages 257-269, January.
    5. Tim Lomas & Kate Hefferon & Itai Ivtzan, 2015. "The LIFE Model: A Meta-Theoretical Conceptual Map for Applied Positive Psychology," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 16(5), pages 1347-1364, October.
    6. Rui Zhang & Ping Peng & Yiming Su & Zheyu Lin & Dawei Feng, 2025. "Wealth shocks and self-reported health: evidence from the quasi natural experiment of housing system reform in China," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-12, December.
    7. Xiandeng Jiang & Le Chang & Yanlin Shi, 2023. "Housing price diffusions in mainland China: evidence from a spatially penalized graphical VAR model," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 64(2), pages 765-795, February.
    8. Zhu, Mengbing & Xing, Chunbing & Li, Yi, 2023. "Husbands' wages and married women's labor supply in urban China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    9. Nikolova, Milena, 2016. "Happiness and Development," IZA Discussion Papers 10088, IZA Network @ LISER.
    10. Lina Meng & Xiao Xiao & Yinggang Zhou, 2023. "Housing Boom and Household Migration Decision: New Evidence from China," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 67(3), pages 453-479, October.
    11. Zhu, Yaqun & Kong, Jun, 2025. "Homeownership and public sector employment: Evidence from the removal of home purchase restrictions in China," Journal of Housing Economics, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    12. Frank Cowell & Dirk Van de gaer, 2025. "Condorcet Was Wrong, Pareto Was Right: Families, Inheritance and Inequality," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 27(2), April.
    13. Fang, Guanfu & Miao, Liya, 2024. "Expanding boundaries: The Impact of kindergarten availability on women's employment in China," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    14. Liu, Jing & Xing, Chunbing & Zhang, Qiong, 2020. "House price, fertility rates and reproductive intentions," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    15. Hu, Mingzhi & Su, Yinxin, 2026. "How does housing wealth affect happiness?," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    16. Valérie Prycker, 2010. "Happiness on the Political Agenda? PROS and CONS," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 11(5), pages 585-603, October.
    17. Wang, Jiao & Zou, Dianzhang & Chen, Yi & Xue, Jingwen, 2026. "Booming costs, boozing habits: How soaring housing prices drive smoking and drinking in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    18. Estela Núñez-Barriopedro & Rafael Ravina-Ripoll & Eduardo Ahumada-Tello, 2020. "Happiness perception in Spain, a SEM approach to evidence from the sociological research center," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 54(3), pages 761-779, June.
    19. Yee Ngoo & Nai Tey & Eu Tan, 2015. "Determinants of Life Satisfaction in Asia," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 124(1), pages 141-156, October.
    20. He, Dongjin & Zhou, Jiajun & Li, Yingmei & Zhong, Zhengqi, 2025. "The impact of physical exercise on risk asset allocation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 86(PE).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:wly:intsec:v:21:y:2026:i:2:p:163-175. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.