Income Inequality,Social Networks And Residents' Subjective Well-being

Improving people's well-being is a major goal of economic growth and livelihood building.At present,in the process of rapid economic growth and deep transformation in China,the problem of inequality in income distribution has become more and more serious,which has brought about many social problems.Whether the income inequality will affect the happiness of Chinese residents and what impact will be generated? How does the different characteristics of income quality affect the poor and the rich? Does the social network have a regulatory role? This study attempts to scientifically demonstrate the above issues and provide reasonable explanations so as to provide reference for decision makers.Firstly,the article discusses theoretically the relationship between income inequality and well-being,clarifies the internal mechanism between the two,and puts forward three research hypotheses;Secondly,based on the data from China Family Panel Studies in 2014,it mainly uses linear regression to implement empirical analysis.The analysis focuses on the impact of income inequality between different income groups on the well-being of residents of all income classes,and analyzes the heterogeneity of urban and rural areas and their academic records;Then it discusses the impact of social networks on happiness,studies the effect of interaction items on well-being of each income class,tests whether social networks have a regulatory effect.It also uses Logit,Order-probit model to test the robustness and report the average marginal effect.The main conclusions are as follows:(1)The income gap between the upper and lower groups(p90/p10),and the income gap between the middle and lower groups(p50/p10)have a significant positive effect on the overall well-being of the residents.The demonstration effect on the poor is more obvious but has no significant effect on the rich.(2)Poor people with political relationships can significantly improve their well-being through identity,high social class,etc.Only the rich's network of relationships enhances the positive effect of the income gap on well-being.(3)The influence of social networks on well-being may be by the channels of income and social status.The income gap is likely to increase the level of overall well-being in the region by increasing per capita fiscal spending.The results of this study have important implications for the in-depth understanding of the nature and characteristics of China's income inequality,revealing the distribution of subjective well-being of Chinese residents,and improving the overall welfare level and quality of life of residents.