Abstract
The article looks at whether or not social policy and other societal-condition variables contribute to the subjective well-being of life satisfaction. It firstly argues that social policy needs to pay more attention to the study of subjective well-being. Then, it reviews the literature and finds that people in rich societies generally have higher levels of life satisfaction. But the findings of a social survey on the level of and variance in life satisfaction in a rich Chinese society reveal the contrary. The empirical data reflects a life satisfaction pattern along strong income and class lines. It also confirms that social policy and other societal-condition variables have different degrees of impact on life satisfaction. At last, implications of the findings for social policy are discussed.
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Wong, C.K., Wong, K.Y. & Mok, B.H. Subjective Well-Being, Societal Condition and Social Policy – The Case Study of a Rich Chinese Society. Soc Indic Res 78, 405–428 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-005-1604-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-005-1604-9