Institute of Western China Economic Research, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
PLoS One. 2024 Nov 19;19(11):e0310193. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310193. eCollection 2024.
As an essential dimension of economic inequality, consumption inequality is tightly associated with public welfare. This study investigates the effect of consumption inequality on individuals' subjective well-being (SWB) in China using data from the 2014, 2018, and 2020 China Family Panel Studies. The findings indicate that consumption inequality has a significant negative impact on SWB. Specifically, for every unit increase in consumption inequality, the probability of individuals rating their SWB as "Happy" and "Very happy" decreases by 0.37% and 5.45% respectively. In addition, individuals' confidence about their future serves as an intermediary in the connection between consumption inequality and SWB. The investigation of heterogeneity evidences that the adverse impact of consumption inequality on SWB is more pronounced in terms of subsistence and development expenditures. Consumption inequality affects SWB more seriously among lower-income and urban residents. Overall, this study holds important implications for addressing economic inequality to bolster individuals' welfare.
作为经济不平等的一个重要维度，消费不平等与公共福利密切相关。本研究利用中国家庭追踪调查（CFPS）2014、2018 和 2020 年的数据，考察了消费不平等对中国居民主观幸福感（SWB）的影响。研究结果表明，消费不平等对 SWB 有显著的负向影响。具体而言，消费不平等每增加一个单位，居民自评 SWB 为“幸福”和“非常幸福”的概率分别降低 0.37%和 5.45%。此外，个体对未来的信心在消费不平等与 SWB 之间的关系中起到了中介作用。异质性分析表明，消费不平等对生存和发展支出的 SWB 影响更为显著。消费不平等对低收入和城镇居民的 SWB 影响更为严重。总的来说，本研究对于解决经济不平等问题以增进个人福利具有重要意义。
