Aspirations, Adaptation and Subjective Well-Being of Rural–Urban Migrants in China

Knight, John; Gunatilaka, Ramani

doi:10.1057/9781137002778_4

Cited by 32 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…The log yearly household per capita income has a significant positive effect on happiness, even if relative income is controlled. The semielasticity of income is about 0.27 and is close to the estimation of Knight and Gunatilaka (2010b). Political identity, measured as whether the individual is a Communist Party member, significantly increases happiness, perhaps because party membership may bring more political or social capital.…”

supporting

confidence: 54%

“…Knight et al (2009) examined the role of absolute and relative income on the happiness of rural Chinese residents, and their results agree with intuition: higher household income per capita results in a higher happiness level; higher relative income status within a village also leads to higher happiness. Knight and Gunatilaka (2010b) studied the happiness determination of rural migrants. They attribute the lower happiness of migrants to the changing of income reference group: their higher aspirations make them unhappier.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Third, we also calculate the Gini coefficient for each city as a measurement of overall inequality that is different from identity-related inequality. Fourth, following previous studies that found that expectation of future income was a statistically significant factor in current happiness (Luo, 2006;Knight and Gunatilaka, 2010b), we introduce a dummy variable that indicates respondents' expectations for income change over the next five years: "big increase," "small increase," "unchanged," or "decrease" ("unchanged" is the base group). Fifth, we employ the log of annual household income per capita in order to control the influence of the absolute level of household income.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identity, Inequality, and Happiness: Evidence from Urban China

2012

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This paper presents the impact of income inequality on the subjective wellbeing of three different social groups in urban China. We classify urban social groups according to their hukou status: rural migrants, "born" urban residents, and "acquired" urban residents who had changed their hukou identity from rural to urban. We focus on how the income disparity between migrants and urban residents affects individual happiness. The main results are as follows. People feel unhappy if inequality is related to their hukou identity, irrespective of whether they are urban residents with or without hukou. However, when identity-related inequality and other individual-and city-level characteristics are controlled, inequality measured by city-level Gini increases happiness. We also find that among urban residents who own hukou, mostly the "acquired" urban residents are unhappy with hukou-related inequality. This implies that identity is formed by both policy and personal experience. "Born" urban residents have lower happiness scores when they are old. Communist Party members strongly dislike the identity-related inequality.

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confidence: 54%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Identity, Inequality, and Happiness: Evidence from Urban China

2012

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“…The effect of optimistic expectations outstrips any realistic increase in own income." A study with potentially important implications for the level of subjective well-being prevailing in the day labour market in South Africa is that of Knight and Gunatilaka (2008). Using 2002 CIPS data, they tried to elucidate why the mean happiness score of rural-urban migrants is lower than that of those who stay behind in the countryside and of those who have an urban household registration.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Happy In The Informal Economy? A Case Study Of Well-Being Among Day Labourers In South Africa

Blaauw

Botha

Schenck

et al. 2013

IBER

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Past research provided evidence of the negative effect that individual unemployment can have on subjective well-being. The persistent high levels of unemployment and poverty in South Africa INTRODUCTION AND AIM OF THE PAPERhere was a time when the study of well-being, and subjective well-being in particular, was, for the most part, excluded from economic analysis as a result of the disciplinary paradigm of logical positivism. Yet, economic theories often include reference to values, expectations, and the like (Easterlin 2001: 225).Since the 1940s, the landscape has changed and, recently, Helliwell and Barrington-Leigh (2010) have argued that growing awareness is being raised in academic, policy, and public areas to subjective measures of wellbeing. This represents an important shift towards greater realism in the study of economic behaviour. Subsequently, a significant body of literature emerged on the determinants of well-being in developed countries. Recent research findings on well-being in developing countries specifically have added more depth to the development debate (Tiwari 2009: 129).Most studies on subjective well-being in transitional economies focus on either rural areas or gender groups. Prominent scholars in South Africa ensured that South Africa's transitional experience and its influence on well-being form part of this important research agenda (Møller and Schlemmer, 1989;Møller, 1998;Møller and Saris, 2001;Møller and Dickow, 2002;Ebrahim, Botha, and Snowball, 2011;Botha and Booysen, 2011). A constant theme in South African literature is that, in the main, the wealthier testify to higher levels of satisfaction and On the other hand, people in the Eastern Cape, a province with the high levels of unemployment and deep poverty, are principally unhappy, dissatisfied, and pessimistic.Cramm, Møller, and Nieboer (2010: 1013) state that there is a scarcity of research on well-being among the poorest of the poor. As a result, the experiences in terms of the well-being of marginalised groups in the South African labour market have not received sufficient attention in South African research on the subject.Past research results provided evidence of the negative effect that individual unemployment can have on subjective well-being (Winkelmann, 2009: 421). The persistent high levels of unemployment and the severity of absolute poverty in South Africa have been well documented. As a result, many people are forced into the informal economy where they engage a variety of survivalist activities. Offering their labour on street corners and at intersections as day labourers is a pertinent example in this regard. Blaauw (2010) found no pure economic rationale for the sustainability of this activity, given the cost and the low and uncertain levels of income in this market, yet many day labourers have been involved in this activity for many years. Researching the well-being in this informal labour market is an important extension of the research into the employee side of the informal economy. It takes cognisa...

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“…Knight and Gunatilaka (2008). The authors set out to explain why the mean happiness score of rural-to-urban migrants in China is lower than that of those who stay behind in the countryside.…”

Section: Brief Literature Overview: Day Labouring and Subjective Wellmentioning

confidence: 99%

The subjective well-being of day labourers in South Africa: The role of income and geographical location

Blaauw

Botha

Schenck

2018

SAJEMS

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Background: The informal economy in South Africa provides employment to large numbers of people who would otherwise have no opportunity to earn a living. Yet informal activities, such as day labouring, generate highly uncertain returns. Although it seems reasonable to conclude that day labourers would be dissatisfied with their lives, this is not necessarily the case as several factors contribute to people’s subjective well-being. Aim: This study is in response to a call for more research on the subjective well-being of marginalised groups in South Africa’s informal labour market. Setting: The day labour market in South Africa, whose members congregate at hiring sites hoping to be picked up by passers-by in need of temporary, casual workers. Methods: Using Sen’s Capability Approach, the study builds on earlier research conducted on the general well-being of day labourers in South Africa, with specific focus on their subjective well-being and geographical location. The results from a countrywide survey of 3830 day labourers were used in a regression analysis to compare the subjective well-being among day labourers across the nine provinces of South Africa. Results: There are statistically significant differences in the well-being of day labourers across the nine provinces. Economic variables play a role in both objective and subjective measures of well-being, while attitudinal and comparison variables are significant for the objective and subjective measures, respectively. Conclusions: Although they have to operate in harsh conditions, day labourers in South Africa display agency by choosing to migrate to richer provinces in search of greater economic opportunity and reward. However, these potential gains are often negated by increased levels of competition and thus depressed wage levels. How to nurture marginalised groups’ abilities to exercise agency and take more control of their lives represents fertile ground for researchers in future.

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Aspirations, Adaptation and Subjective Well-Being of Rural–Urban Migrants in China

Cited by 32 publications

References 14 publications

Identity, Inequality, and Happiness: Evidence from Urban China

Identity, Inequality, and Happiness: Evidence from Urban China

Happy In The Informal Economy? A Case Study Of Well-Being Among Day Labourers In South Africa

The subjective well-being of day labourers in South Africa: The role of income and geographical location

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