Conventional approaches to the analysis of human well-being use money-metric measures such as income or consumption. However, they are heavily criticised for relying on a limited understanding of well-being. In recent decades, subjective measures of well-being have been increasingly presented as providing a more inclusive and holistic perspective of well-being. Using data from the National Income Dynamics Study (NIDS), this dissertation examines the relationship between income, a common money-metric measure of well-being, and life satisfaction, a key indicator of subjective well-being. The results show that income and life satisfaction exhibit a weak but significant positive relationship, one which is stronger at lower levels of income. In addition to income, the analysis identifies a number of other significant correlates of subjective well-being. Furthermore, several differences in the correlates of income and life satisfaction are detected. These results highlight how subjective well-being measures can include information about people’s lived experiences in ways that are not fully captured in objective money-metric measures. / M.Dev.Studies University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.

在過去的幾十年，儘管經歷了飛速的經濟增長，中國居民的平均幸福感水平卻並未大幅度提高。"幸福感悖論"的主流解釋強調相對經濟地位的角色，本文從不同的角度提供了社會比較效應在中國的新證據。 / 第一個使用2003到2013橫跨十年的橫截面時間序列數據，檢驗了幸福感悖論是否存在于中國。結果不但證實了該悖論：幸福感的長期變化與省級人均GRP的長期變化之間沒有顯著相關；也揭示了中國的獨特性：短時期內，省級人均GRP對居民幸福感有負向影響。 / 第二個研究關注社會比較效應在高速經濟增長背景下的異質性。基於調查數據的分析首先證實了"隧道效應"，即儘管經濟地位落後於他人，個人幸福感反而會升高。 此外，我們驗證了相關機制：納入未來收入指標后，同伴收入的正向影響甚至變為負向。進一步，我們分析了情境準實驗數據。主要結論包括，在具體的工作情境中，(1)比同事/好朋友的相對收入更高，情境幸福感越高，反之亦然；(2)與集體降薪背景相比，在集體升薪背景下，更低相對收入的負向影響加劇，而更高相對收入的正向影響減弱。 因而，中國居民對於當前收入不平等的容忍主要來自於他們對未來收入會上升的期望。 / 第三個研究關注社會比較效應在家庭內的異質性。基於調查數據的分析發現，相對經濟地位對幸福感的影響具有顯著的性別差異：比配偶相對經濟地位高會提高男性的家庭滿意度，卻會降低女性滿意度。此外，我們區分了兩種比較維度，發現在職業聲望上的相對地位效應的性別差異比在收入維度上更微弱。 我們進一步分析了自行收集的情境實驗數據。結果與調查數據分析基本一致。 最後，通過比較未婚群體及已婚群體在情境中的處理效應，我們揭示了性別角色意識對性別化不平等效應的強烈的型塑影響。 / Despite the remarkable economic growth in China over the past few decades, the average level of happiness of the Chinese does not rise on a large scale. The mainstay of the interpretation for this "happiness paradox" has been highlighting the role of relative economic standing. The current thesis provides new evidence on social comparison effects in China from different perspectives. / The first study describes a social fact under the influence of relative economic status: "happiness paradox". Using a cross-sectional time-series data spanning 10 years (2003-2013), we empirically test whether or not the "happiness paradox" also exists in China. We demonstrated the validity of the "happiness paradox" on one hand: there is no significant association between the economic growth (i.e. the 10-year difference of the provincial per capita GRP) and the change of happiness (i.e. the 10-year difference of the aggregated happiness index). On the other hand, we uncovered a unique pattern in China: in the short term, the provincial per capita GRP is negatively correlated with the provincial happiness index. / The second study examines the heterogeneity of social comparison effects in the workplace under the background of the rapid economic growth. Analyses on survey data firstly verify the "tunnel effect": after holding one’s income constant, the average income of peers in workplace imposes positive effect on personal happiness. In addition, the effect of reference income changes from positive to negative after incorporating the expected income index. Furthermore, we analyze a quasi-experimental dataset based on an original vignette design. Main conclusions include: in the workplace setting, (1) higher relative income comparing to one’s colleagues or friends makes one happier; (2) comparing with the pay-cut scenario, under the pay-rise scenario, the negative effect of lagging behind colleagues or friends would be aggravated, while the benefit of surpassing others would be eliminated. Our analyses suggest that the major social force behind the unexpected tolerance to the rising income inequality among the Chinese people is their prospect for the upward income mobility in the near future. / The third study focuses on the heterogeneity of social comparison effects within family. Analyses on survey data suggest that the impact of relative economic status between husband and wife is highly gendered: for males, the higher relative income over spouse, the more satisfied they are with family, while the opposite is true for females. In addition, given the multidimensionality of the relative status, we distinguished two dimensions for comparison, finding that the relative status effect on the dimension of occupational prestige is much weaker than on income. Further analysis based on a quasi-experimental vignette data confirmed the above two conclusions. Finally, by contrasting the treatment effects of the single and married population, we revealed a powerful impact of specialized gender role ideology in shaping people’s perspective on inequality within family. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / Detailed summary in vernacular field only. / 吳菲. / Parallel title from added title page. / Thesis (Ph.D.) Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2015. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 122-137). / Abstracts also in English. / Wu Fei.