The more struggling, the happier?——Analysis based on two dimensions of social equity

ABSTRACT

Based on the data of CGSS (2015), the paper constructs an intermediary effect model and a moderating effect model to analyse the impacts of individual effort, opportunity equity(OPEQ), and outcome equity(OCEQ) on subjective well-being(SWB). We found: (1) Individual effort and OPEQ can both enhance SWB, and OPEQ plays a negative moderating role, which is not significant for the low-income strata. (2) The relationship between OCEQ and SWB is inverted U-shaped. The low-income group has a stronger tolerance to outcome inequity, and it has an inverted U-shaped regulation in the process of individual efforts to affect SWB, which is not reflected in the high-income class. (3) In the process of individual efforts affecting SWB, OPEQ and OCEQ both have mediating effects, which are not significant in the high-income class. (4) In terms of intergenerational relations, parents’ education can significantly improve SWB and negatively regulate the relationship between individual effort and SWB, family status at the age of 14 and SWB were significantly negatively correlated.

KEYWORDS:

• Opportunity equity
• outcome equity
• individual efforts
• subjective well-being

JEL CODE:

• I131

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the Research on the Service-oriented Manufacturing Industry Driven by Dual Innovation in the Context of Supply-side Structural Reform [17BGL033].