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Happiness in transition countries [2 articles]

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  • Guriev, Sergei
  • Zhuravskaya, Ekaterina
  • Frijters, Paul
  • Liuy, Amy Y.C.
  • Mengz, Xin

Abstract

In this paper we study the effect of optimistic income expectations on life satisfaction amongst the Chinese population. Using a large scale household survey conducted in 2002 we find that the level of optimism about the future is particularly strong in the countryside and amongst rural-to-urban migrants. The importance of these expectations for life satisfaction is particularly pronounced in the urban areas, though also highly significant for the rural area. If expectations were to reverse from positive to negative, we calculate that this would have doubled the proportion of unhappy people and reduced proportion of very happy people by 48%. We perform several robustness checks to see if the results are driven by variations in precautionary savings or reverse causality.

Suggested Citation

  • Guriev, Sergei & Zhuravskaya, Ekaterina & Frijters, Paul & Liuy, Amy Y.C. & Mengz, Xin, 2009. "Happiness in transition countries [2 articles]," CEPREMAP Working Papers (Docweb) 0902, CEPREMAP.
    • Handle: RePEc:cpm:docweb:0902
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Junhui Han & Zenghui Huo & Xuejia Sun, 2022. "Loss of Happiness for Land-Expropriated, Urbanised Residents: A Comparison Based on Multiple Groups," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(4), pages 1-13, February.
    2. Dina Sharipova & Alma Kudebayeva, 2023. "Changing Well-Being in Central Asia: Evidence from Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 1233-1260, March.
    3. Vedran Recher, 2022. "History Matters: Life Satisfaction in Transition Countries," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 171-193, January.

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