Happiness inequality has a Kuznets-style relation with economic growth in China

Happiness studies generally investigate average levels of happiness rather than happiness inequality between regions, and studies of social inequality usually measure it based on the distribution of life opportunities (e.g., income) rather than life results (e.g., happiness). Inspired by the Kuznets curve, which illustrates the inverted U-shaped correlation between income inequality and economic growth, this study investigates whether there is a subjective wellbeing Kuznets curve. It uses data from ten waves of the Chinese General Social Survey to construct a panel data set and runs panel data models to investigate the hypothesized curvilinear relationship between happiness inequality and economic growth. The results show that happiness inequality, measured as the standard deviations of respondents’ self-reported happiness, first increases and then decreases as per-capita GDP increases in Chinese provinces. These findings strongly support the subjective wellbeing Kuznets curve hypothesis and suggest that strategies for reducing happiness inequality must consider stages of economic development.