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Testing Subjective Well-Being from the Perspective of Social Quality: Quantile Regression Evidence from Shanghai, China

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Abstract

Based on an empirical survey in Shanghai, this study tests how the effects of Social Quality’s four domains viz. social economic security, social inclusion, social cohesion, and social empowerment—on subjective well-being (SWB) vary across quantiles of SWB. The results show that house tenure, financial balance, social participation, social trust, loneliness, and social alienation, are strong predictors for SWB across SWB’s quantiles. Institutional trust improves SWB among those with lower and middle levels of SWB. People’s view on success attribution is also associated with SWB. Being married makes those with low levels of SWB happier, whereas high education only benefits those from the upper quantiles of SWB.

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Notes

  1. Some examples of academic work using SQ to measure social development include: Abbott (2007); Abbott and Wallace (2011); Ebert et al. (2005); Gordon (2005); Keizer et al. (2002); and Yee and Chang (2011).

  2. Some examples of academic work using SWB to measure social development include: Cummins (1995); Frey and Stutzer (2000); Pinzler (2012); Veenhoven (2009).

  3. Culture itself is being seen here as a set of shared norms and values (Greenfield and Keller 2004; Golpelwar 2011; Trompenaars and Hampden-Turner 1998).

  4. These two countries have undergone sudden and dramatic political transitions during 1991. For this reason, economic security is a matter of greater concern in these countries than in most Western European nations (Abbott 2007).

  5. Except in Georgia, where the relationship was negatively significant. This would indicate that while distrust in institutions does not significantly relate to SWB levels in any of these four countries, such distrust definitely causes dissatisfaction in Georgia.

  6. Except in Kazakhstan, where the relationship was negatively significant. This would indicate that while having a friend to confide in does not significantly affect SWB levels in any of these four countries, not having this option does significantly increase dissatisfaction, at least in Kazakhstan.

  7. SWB is commonly and colloquially referred to as happiness (Diener, 2000). Therefore, throughout this article the terms SWB and happiness will be used interchangeably

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Acknowledgments

This study is jointly supported by the Program of Shanghai Pujiang Talent Plans and the Sociology Division, E-Institutes of Shanghai Municipal Education Commission.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sociology, Shanghai University, Shangda Road 99, Shanghai, China

    Hao Yuan

  2. Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences, University of Bremen, Wiener Straße/Ecke Celsiusstraße, 28359, Bremen, Germany

    Mayank Golpelwar

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  1. Hao Yuan
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Correspondence to Hao Yuan.

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Yuan, H., Golpelwar, M. Testing Subjective Well-Being from the Perspective of Social Quality: Quantile Regression Evidence from Shanghai, China. Soc Indic Res 113, 257–276 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-012-0091-z

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