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A Study On The Well-being Of Rural Residents In Jilin Province

Posted on:2012-07-30Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:C M AnFull Text:PDF
GTID:1116330335453064Subject:Agricultural mechanization project
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Since China's reform and opening up to the outside world, the majority of rural residents'material, spiritual and other living conditions have been greatly improved. Therefore, research on the subjective well-being (SWB) of rural residents should not be merely limited to their material living conditions. Instead, greater attention should be given to their spiritual life and other living conditions, namely, their spiritual and psychological satisfaction, so as to measure their SWB. With the improvement of material living conditions in rural areas, it is undoubtedly of great practical significance to conduct analyses on rural residents'quality of life from a psychological perspective, to understand their psychological expectations and conditions, and to subsequently establish more practical and effective policies. In recent years, studies regarding the rural residents'SWB have gradually deepened, and a growing number of economists have begun to pay attention to this issue. Many scholars have examined the issue from diverse perspectives and have been continuously expanding both the breadth and depth of this area of study. These studies have provided some theoretical and empirical grounds to the improvement of rural residents'living conditions and social environment. This dissertation uses a number of variables, including residential location, gender, age, marital status, labor and other relevant variables, to investigate the SWB divergence among different groups of rural residents, and by doing so it contributes to the development of scholarship in this area.The main contents and conclusions of this study can be summarized as follows:1. This dissertation studies rural residents'SWB from the perspectives of behavioral economics and the psychological mechanism of rural residents. (1) Research on rural residents'SWB must be based on individual psychology, not on some abstract hypotheses of their behaviors. The psychological characteristics of rural residents demonstrate a finite rationality, and as a result, they make decisions regarding their SWB through a psychologically heuristic procedure. Meanwhile, rural residents are also very much concerned about their relative gains and losses(about what), and often develop their own relative framing effects. Preferences in rural residents'decision-making about their SWB originate mainly from their psychological decision-making processes. However, both preference reversal and time inconsistency may occur in the SWB of rural residents. These decision-making patterns and behavioral characteristics in rural residents precisely reveal that rural residents'SWB is affected by certain economical variables. (2) The dissertation studies rural residents'SWB from the perspective of consumption, and explores the relationship between their SWB and the marginal utility of their consumption. (3) The dissertation studies the influence on rural residents'SWB brought by the rural labor market: loss aversion and other policies will decrease their SWB, and the policy environment will also make rural residents develop inertia and increase their psychological pressure, resulting in a decrease in their SWB. (4) This dissertation also investigates the influence on rural residents'SWB brought by their emotions, physiological conditions and cognitive reflection, and the findings demonstrate that the differences among rural residents in their emotions, physiological conditions and cognitive reflection correlate to the differences in their SWB. (5) The dissertation also studies the influence on rural residents'SWB brought by their cognitive differences, and the findings show that cognitive differences lead to differences in their SWB.2. Using cognition as a main theme, this study establishes both the conceptual system and the theoretical framework of an economical theory concerning rural residents'SWB, and the specific conclusions are as follows:(1)This study provides a concise analysis of the definition of SWB, its importance and its connections with economics from the perspective of economics and establishes a foundation for the economical study of rural residents'SWB. It explores the issue in relation to the effectiveness of material and re-analyzes the definition of SWB. Moreover, the study defines both the overt and latent factors in the cognitive evaluations of rural residents and analyzes the functions of these factors in determining the SWB among rural residents. From an economical perspective, the overt factors measure SWB primarily through visible materials such as currency; yet latent factors function in a completely opposite way. Meanwhile, the study finds that the overt factors and latent factors affect rural residents'SWB through different mechanisms. (2)By analyzing and defining the relevant basic concepts, this study establishes a basic game model for measuring rural residents'SWB and provides a theoretical interpretation of this model. (3)The study also introduces the characteristics of the base factors and related theories regarding rural residents'SWB and reviews a number of basic concepts in the study of rural residents'SWB from the perspective of cognitive and comparative psychology. Using these concepts as a foundation, the study identifies the economical function to measure the SWB for rural residents and compares this function with the effectiveness function. (4)The study explores the cognitive patterns as a result of rural residents'loss of their SWB, determines the cognitive deviation function in measuring rural residents'SWB and defines this function through a theoretical model. 3. Based on the survey questionnaire designed for this study, Huadian City and Tonghua County in the eastern region, Gongzhuling City and Lishu County in the central region, and Qianguo County and Zhenlai County in the western region, all of Jilin Province, were selected for the survey and evaluation of rural residents'SWB, and the findings are as follows:(1)Due to the complexity and the fluid nature of rural residents'SWB and various other influencing factors, this study selected fixed samples to conduct a survey for three consecutive years, in 2007,2008 and 2009, respectively.240 surveys were collected each year, and the survey effective rate is 100%. (2) Survey reliability re-testing and trial-based factor analysis were used to examine the surveys'reliability and effectiveness. The testing results showed that the questionnaire designed demonstrated a high internal stability and that the data collected reflect well the questionnaire's structure and content. The survey materials were therefore valid for further analysis and research. (3) A 5-point summated scaling method was used to evaluate the rural residents'SWB in Jilin Province in the following eight aspects:SWB, social environment, economic condition, family life, agricultural production, infrastructure, physical and mental health, and social perception. The overall evaluation results show a high level of SWB among Jilin Province rural residents in 2007, and the overall SWB for 2008 increased slightly from 2007.2009 saw a continuous yet significant increase from 2008, indicating that the Jilin Province rural residents'SWB has risen rapidly between 2007 and 2009. (4) According to the results from the individual aspects, between 2007 and 2009, the average indexes for social environment in the rural residents'SWB in Jilin Province were 3.4,3.9 and 3.8, respectively, indicating that rural residents in Jilin Province maintained a relatively high level of satisfaction for their social environment, but this level of satisfaction was decreasing in general. Among the factors, insurance policies and rural financial policies were two areas that showed the lowest level of satisfaction. The average indexes for economical conditions were 3.03,2.98 and 2.95, respectively. These figures indicate that satisfaction regarding economical conditions among Jilin Province rural residents was at an average to low level and was showing a downward turn, with consuming capacity and the total family assets showing the lowest level of satisfaction. The average indexes for family life were 3.45,3.46 and 3.45, respectively, showing a high level of satisfaction among rural residents in Jilin Province, and the year-to-year fluctuation is mostly caused by random errors that occurred in multiple-time surveying. The average indexes for agricultural production were 2.87,2.84 and 2.8, which shows a comparatively low level of satisfaction with an increasingly downward trend, and the three factors with the lowest scores are prices for agricultural resources, agricultural technology promotion and advancement, and agricultural product price. Additionally, the average indexes for infrastructure were 2.77,2.76 and 2.71, indicating a comparatively low level of satisfaction with an increasingly downward trend, and the four lowest factors are agricultural production facilities, medical facilities, educational facilities and cultural and sports facilities. The average indexes for satisfaction of physical and mental health were 3.05,3.06 and 3.11, which shows a medium level satisfaction and an increasingly upward trend, with relatively low scores in the area of recreation and entertainment. Lastly, the average indexes for social perception were 3.17,3.18 and 3.19, which shows a medium high level satisfaction with an increasingly upward trend, and information literacy is at the lowest level.4. This dissertation studies emphatically the influencing factors on Jilin rural residents' SWB based the questionnaire designed for this investigation and draws the following conclusions:(1) The influencing single-factor test on rural residents'SWB:By using SPSS statistical analysis and a testing-based hypothetical model, this dissertation studies the influences of each factor on rural residents'SWB, and adopts such methods as ANOVA and Independent T Test. The results show that the factors significantly influencing rural residents' SWB are age, literacy level, physical and mental health, economic status, family life, agricultural production and infrastructure, among others. (2) Using the Multinomial Logistic Regression model, this dissertation analyzes the influencing factors of rural residents'SWB through examining cross-section data. It establishes a Multinomial Logistic Regression model to study Jilin rural residents'SWB, and the model designates "Extremely Unsatisfied" as a reference point, adopts a regression analysis to process the average data from the three-year survey, and processes data through a gradually forward approach. As a result, the variable of age has significantly positive influence on "Unsatisfied". Literacy level has significantly positive influence on "Average", "Satisfied" and "Especially satisfied". Physical and mental health has significantly negative influence on "Unsatisfied", and significantly positive influence on "Satisfied" and "Extremely Satisfied". Economic status has significantly negative influence on "Unsatisfied", and significantly positive influence on "Average", "Satisfied" and "Extremely Satisfied". Family life has significantly negative influence on "Satisfied" and "Extremely Satisfied", and has almost no influence on "Unsatisfied" and "Average". Agricultural production has significantly positive influence on "Unsatisfied" and "Average", and has significantly negative influence on "Extremely satisfied". Infrastructure has significantly positive influence on "Unsatisfied" and shows significantly negative influence on "Extremely satisfied". (3) Using the Panel Data Regression Model to analyze the primary influencing factors in rural residents'SWB:This dissertation analyses the survey data from 2007 to 2009 through the Panel Data Regression model which designates the factors that influence rural residents'SWB. The results show that, the goodness of fit of the random effects model is (Unclear about the original Chinese) comparatively high. The variable of age has significantly negative influence on rural residents'SWB, while literacy level, physical and mental health, economic status, family life, agricultural production and infrastructure show significantly positive influence on rural residents'SWB. In the order of the degree of influence, economic status ranks first, followed by physical and mental health, family life, infrastructure, agricultural production, age and literacy level.
Keywords/Search Tags:Well-being of Rural Residents, Formation Mechanism, Affecting Factors of Well-being, Regression Analysis, Evaluation of Well-being
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