Is happiness inequality immune to income inequality? New evidence through instrument-effect-corrected standard deviations

Previous research has found that a nation’s income inequality does not affect its happiness inequality. This article questions the appropriateness of the standard deviation as measure of happiness inequality used in these studies. Our main criticism concerns structural dependency, i.e. the technical dependency of the standard deviation on a nation’s mean happiness which is induced by measuring happiness with limited rating scales. To overcome this drawback, two new measures are proposed which adjust for the effects of limited instruments. Applying these new measures to the most recent World Values Survey data demonstrates that some countries change their ranking in the league table of happiness inequality considerably. Moreover, income inequality does affect corrected happiness inequality, a finding which has significant public policy implications.     

The environmental efficiency of well-being: A cross-national analysis

Recent research has conceptualized sustainability as the environmental efficiency of well-being (EWEB). This concept takes into account the benefits societies are able to produce from their demands on the environment. Research along these lines indicates that countries vary widely in the efficiency with which they transform the Earth’s resources into well-being. Here, we take up this finding as a puzzle to be explained. We construct a new measure of EWEB using the ecological footprint per capita (a measure of environmental consumption) and average life satisfaction (a measure of subjective well-being). We draw hypotheses from political economy, modernization, and sustainable consumption theories in the environmental social sciences. Using full information maximum likelihood estimation, we test the effects of climate, political, economic, and social factors on EWEB with a sample of 105 countries. Key findings include a negative quadratic effect of economic development on EWEB, a negative effect of income inequality, and a positive effect of social capital.     

The resilience of neighborhood social processes: A case study of the 2011 Brisbane flood

Social disorganization theories position neighborhood social capital and collective efficacy as key social processes that should facilitate community resilience in the aftermath of disaster. Yet limited evidence demonstrates that these social processes are themselves resilient with some studies showing that disaster can fracture even once cohesive neighborhoods. In this paper we assess the stability of neighborhood level collective efficacy and social capital before and after a disaster. We use multilevel structural equation modeling and draw on census and longitudinal survey data collected from over 4000 residents living in 148 neighborhoods in Brisbane, Australia before and after a significant flood event. We examine what happens to social capital and collective efficacy in flooded and non-flooded neighborhoods and assess whether demographic shifts are associated with change and/or stability in these processes. We find strong evidence that these processes operate similarly across flooded and not flooded communities. Our findings also reveal significant stability for our measures of social capital across time, while collective efficacy increases post flood across all neighborhoods, but more so in flooded neighborhoods. Neighborhood demographics have limited effect on patterns of stability or change in these social processes. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for our understanding of neighborhood resilience in the wake of disaster.     

Explaining the subjective well-being of urban and rural Chinese: Income,personal concerns,and societal evaluations

This study makes an integrated investigation of how subjective well-being is associated with income, personal concerns, and societal evaluations and how these social and psychological correlates of subjective well-being are contextualized within a country. Data used for the empirical analysis come from a nationally representative sample survey conducted in China in 2009. It is found that subjective well-being is independently linked to income, personal concerns, and societal evaluations. Comparisons of urban and rural Chinese further reveal that income, structural attributions of inequality, and evaluations of governance are related to subjective well-being among both groups. Nevertheless, different sets of other evaluative correlates of subjective well-being between urban and rural people stand out, which is conjectured to be related to the long-time institutional, economic, and social segmentation of the two groups. This study has contributed to both the subjective well-being theories and the understanding of the consequences of social inequality.     

The new income inequality and well-being paradigm: Inequality has no effect on happiness in rich nations and normal times,varied effects in extraordinary circumstances,increases happiness in poor nations,and interacts with individuals' perceptions,attitudes, politics,and expectations for the future

Based on earlier, mainly aggregate analyses, conventional wisdom previously held that income inequality reduces happiness. But aggregate models consistently yield misleading results in this domain, substantially because of intractable problems of sample size, confounding omitted variables, and conditional effects differing between poor developing nations, rich advanced nations, and nations in transition from Communism. Based on more recent evidence, scholarly views are beginning to merge on a consensus that national income inequality is irrelevant to individuals' subjective well-being in advanced nations and normal times, as shown by multi-level models with appropriate controls (including socioeconomic development, an engine of happiness and foe of inequality). For developing nations, consensus is not as strong, but the bulk of the evidence indicates a neutral to positive effect for inequality. Building on this foundation, this paper provides exploratory analyses to stimulate future research, extending our understanding of the social psychological and cultural forces that generate these results; dissects changes over time and expectations for the future; and addresses the possibility that inequality may reduce well-being in extraordinary circumstances and for particular groups – for example creating differences in formerly Communist nations between the political left and the right, and between older and younger cohorts.     

Unequal on top: Gender profiling and the income gap among high earner male and female professionals

We develop a comprehensive, multi-level model of income inequality between high earner men and women during the early career stages. We argue that young women are routinely subjected to “gender profiling” by employers—women’s potential contribution to the organization is interpreted through the lens of social stereotypes and cultural norms that attribute to them weaker labor market commitment than men. We investigate two specific mechanisms that arise from this profiling and lead to income inequality: First, women have diminished access to resources and advancement opportunities within the firm which results in lower returns to tenure for women than for men. Second, external mobility is greatly beneficial for men but much less so for women because it reinforces the image of weak commitment. Salary regressions of early career history data of young MBA alumni of a prestigious U.S. business school accord with our conjectures.     

基尼系数的局限性及其补充:中国经验

使用国际上通用的基尼系数分析收入差距,是有一定的适用范围和条件的,而且基尼系数自身也存在一定的局限性。目前在全国范围内计算的基尼系数,忽略了中国作为一个发展中大国存在空间、地域等异质性因素,如果直接套用“0．4的国际警戒线”,会在政策的制订上带有一定的盲目性。基尼系数在中国的适用过程中,必须充分考虑到大规模人口流动因素对城乡收入差距、地区收入差距扩大的抑制效应甚至缓解作用。只有将经济增长标准、收入流动性标准、社会承受力标准以及收入差距预警系统建设等这些指标和工具作为对基尼系数分析的有效补充,才能够确保对中国收入差距的判断和度量更加科学、有效。     

Income inequality and participation: A comparison of 24 European countries

Previous research suggests that when there is a high level of inequality, there is a low rate of participation. Two arguments are generally offered: First, inequality depresses participation because people from different status groups have fewer opportunities to share common goals. Second, people may participate more in civic and social life when they have more resources. However, until now, these explanations have not been separated empirically. Using EU-SILC data for 24 European countries, we analyze how income inequality is related to civic and social participation. Our results indicate that the main effects of inequality manifest via resources at the individual and societal level. However, independent of these resources, higher inequality is associated with lower civic participation. Furthermore, inequality magnifies the relationship between income and participation. This finding is in line with the view that inter-individual processes explain why inequality diminishes participation.     

中国三大区域间收入不平等影响因素的实证研究:1952-2008

区域收入不平等的持续增大,对个人与群体的尊严、国家经济的可持续性发展形成严峻挑战。以往研究局限于经济学视角,只关心某一或某几种因素对收入不平等影响,过于碎片化。本文利用1952-2008年国家统计数据,基于结构主义视角,通过随机效应模型考察了区域间收入不平等背后的因果机制。研究发现:经济增长与区域间收入不平等存在微弱倒"U"关系;结构因素是构筑区域收入不平等的主要力量,解释比例达到69.7%。本文认为,"非均衡发展"是中国经济转型与发展过程中必然的路径选择,区域收入不平等不可避免,并将长期存在。     

收入不平等与公平分配:对转型时期中国城镇居民公平观的一项实证分析

通过分析2005年中国城镇居民的调查数据发现,教育的启蒙性质能够使人超越狭隘的利己主义,从而对不平等持更加批判的态度;国有部门就业者和老年人所认可的不平等程度较低,体现了平均主义价值观的影响;地区实际的不平等程度越大,人们对不平等的认可程度越低。本研究既指出人们在减少收入不平等程度方面的普遍共识,又分析了人们认可的收入不平等程度的差异模式,从而有助于进一步理解民众如何感知和评价当前中国社会面临的日益严峻的收入不平等问题。     

动物福利法溯源

通过追溯人类为动物立法的历史渊源可知,19世纪以来,人们逐渐把对动物的同情转变为公共事务,进而通过制定法律,促进社会变革的实现。综观为动物福利立法的历史,这不只是一段法律的历史,也是观念的变迁史,是人类道德意识的扩展史。在这一过程中,人类的道德视野和道德关切不断扩展,人类对为动物立法的观念的认识也不断走向深化。     

宗教的网络传播与信徒的群体认同

基于互联网技术形成的“虚拟教会”使宗教传播超越了种族、土地、权力等因素,为教义的传布、宗教仪式的举行以及教徒的精神交流提供了新的话语空间,建构了信徒群体认同的新路径。与此同时,互联网作为公共领域又成为多种宗教相互对话的场域,以及再现不同教义的布告牌,信徒由此拥有更多解读和选择信仰的自由。“虚拟教会”既把个人与群体连结成一体,又使信徒的群体认同呈现出异于传统宗教的特征,信徒之间的社会网络更加复杂,并处于不断的分化、聚合过程中。在此语境中,宗教边界淡化,宗教本身及信徒都发生了结构性变化。     

母权,一种社会逻辑:母系氏族、经济渗透力、权力非持平和女性阴柔美建构历程

我们一直承认父权、母权之分,但不同意母权被父权替代的首要决定因素是经济因素(仅限于母系氏族社会向父系氏族及以前的社会形态),母权向父权社会更替的过程中起关键因素的当属生殖崇拜到生殖淡化或生殖转移,父权确立以后,经济的渗透力才是关键因素,它造成父权、母权之间的权力非持平,这种不平衡逐渐形成一种社会逻辑结构,它一旦形成,很难改变目前母权低下的状况;再者,当所有综合因素起作用时,女性的阴柔美在长期的这种社会逻辑下形成了一种状态、一种美、一种心理结构,且不易改变。要改变父权对母权的优势地位,只有从经济渗透力对父权、母权权力非持平和对女性阴柔美建构历程的决定作用入手,以社会逻辑的内生性来构建父权、母权未来权力持平的平台。     

民生指标区域不平等指数解析

发展和公平两者不可分离,不注重公平的发展必然偏离和谐的轨道。利用洛伦兹曲线和基尼系数的计算方法得出的民生指标不平等指数显示：中国的区域不平等问题在农村比在城市更为严重;社会保障的不平等和医疗保障的巨大差距远远超过收入的不平等。适当的政策组合可以促进从“不平等陷阱”向公平发展的良性循环转变。     

Economic performance and public concerns about social class in twentieth-century books

What is the association between macroeconomic conditions and public perceptions of social class? Applying a novel approach based on the Google Books N-gram corpus, this study addresses the relationship between public concerns about social class and economic conditions throughout the twentieth century. The usage of class-related words/phrases, or “literary references to class,” in American English-language books is related to US economic performance and income inequality. The findings of this study demonstrate that economic conditions play a significant role in literary references to class throughout the century, whereas income inequality does not. Similar results are obtained from further analyses using alternative measures of class concerns as well as different corpora of English Fiction and the New York Times. We add to the social class literature by showing that the long-term temporal dynamics of an economy can be exhibited by aggregate class concerns. The application of massive culture-wide content analysis using data of unprecedented size also represents a contribution to the literature.     

Population change and the legacy of slavery

Despite increasing evidence of a contemporary legacy of slavery in the US South, scholars do not have a clear empirical understanding of the ways in which demographic forces can alter local connections to racial histories. In this study, we examine the influence of long-run trends in population change on the relationship between historical slave concentration and contemporary black-white poverty inequality in the American South. We combine one century and a half of county-level population data, including estimates of the slave and total populations in 1860, estimates of black and white population change starting in 1880, and black-white poverty disparities from the 2011–2015 American Community Survey. Our results offer new empirical evidence regarding the enduring influence of racial histories over time, and suggest that white population increase between 1880 and 1910 was particularly influential in understanding the local connection between slave concentration and black-white inequality. Moreover, rather than disrupting the transmission of the legacy of slavery, results indicate that white population increase may have helped spread this legacy of racial inequality to other counties through diffusion processes. We find that while local historical legacies are persistent, they are not permanent, and population trends are a critical force shaping local racial inequality.     

论马克思的价值与分配理论

本文对马克思价值与分配理论的分析,联系到本人在研究剑桥资本争论中得到的一个重要结论,即目前所有国民收入核算体系中以货币量值表示的总量指标与新古典的生产函数或技术关系无关,而只是由社会关系决定的资本主义经济中的货币金融体系决定。如果该结论成立,那么只有重新申明马克思经济学关于社会关系的基本假设和基本结论,通过与主流经济学的论战而建立新的马克思价值与分配理论体系,才能得出对现实问题更有说服力的解释。     

论新中国成立以来我国社会主要矛盾变化的人民主体性

新中国成立以来我国社会主要矛盾的变化不仅反映着社会生产力和生产关系的矛盾运动变化,推动着社会的发展进步,而且反映着中国共产党领导下的人民主体性的发展变化。社会主要矛盾变化的人民主体性集中体现为：人民的需求变化推动着主要矛盾的变化,人民的创造活动促进主要矛盾的发展,人民利益的不断满足是主要矛盾变化的结果。正是从这个意义上讲,社会主要矛盾变化的历史,就是在中国共产党的领导下充分体现人民需求发展、人民创造活动、人民利益实现的历史;用一句话来说,就是中国共产党坚持人民利益至上,充分彰显人民主体性的历史。文章通过对过渡时期、社会主义建设初期、改革开放时期、新时代社会主要矛盾变化与人民主体性的内生机理分析,试图探索社会主要矛盾变化的人民主体性规律,以深化对人类社会发展规律、社会主义建设规律、共产党执政规律的认识,正确认识和科学把握新时代我国社会主要矛盾,为实现人民对美好生活向往的奋斗目标提供理论借鉴。     

收入差距与流动性下降:增长效应与社会冲突效应——一个文献研究的视角

中国收入分配问题目前主要集中在收入差距扩大和收入流动性下降两个方面。正是由于城乡居民收入流动性下降,使得当前收入差距问题成为经济增长、社会稳定以及体制机制的最大挑战。从经济增长来看,收入差距已经对转变经济发展方式产生了制约和影响作用;从社会心理影响与社会冲突来看,收入差距扩大与收入流动性的下降会引发社会矛盾和社会问题,影响甚至阻碍经济稳定增长;从制度挑战方面看,收入流动性下降背后的分配不公,对于社会主义公平正义的价值观和理念产生了动摇和挑战。对此必须予以高度正视。     

基于平等权的共同富裕制度设计分析

贫富差距过大是目前中国面临的一个突出的社会问题,然而人们多局限在收入分配层面寻找解决问题的办法,没有抓住问题的实质。应进一步探寻解决问题的思路,从保障平等权入手进行顶层设计,保障机会均等、起点平等、规则公平、调剂到位、结果公正,为每个社会成员提供平等的发展机会,才能切实解决贫富差距过大问题,以达到共同富裕。