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Status Concern and Relative Deprivation in China: Measures, Empirical Evidence and Economic and Policy Implications
1Assistant Professor of Public Health and Economics in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Yale University. He obtained his PhD in Applied Economics from Cornell University. His research interests involve health economics, labour economics, and economic and human development, with a focus on China, India and Indonesia.
Abstract:
Status concern and feelings of relative deprivation affect individual behaviour and well-being. Traditional norms and the alarming inequality in China have made relative deprivation increasingly intense for the Chinese population. This article reviews empirical literature on China that attempts to test the relative deprivation hypothesis, and also reviews the origins and pathways of relative deprivation, compares its economic measures in the literature and summarises the scientific findings. Drawing from solid empirical evidence, the author discusses the important policy implications on redistribution, official regulations and grassroots sanctions, and relative poverty alleviation.