Minorities in Rural China: Poorer but Inherently Happier?

This is a pioneering study of the determinants of the subjective well-being of ethnic minority people in rural China, using a specially designed sample survey relating to 2011. The underlying hypothesis is that the lifestyle and attitudes of ethnic minorities contribute to their happiness. Five related hypotheses are tested. The minority group is equally happy as the Han group. However, whereas minorities’ much lower income reduces their happiness, this disadvantage is neutralised by their greater inherent capacity for happiness - much of it derived from personal relationships but not, it seems, from lesser materialism or concentrated living together. There is evidence of considerable heterogeneity in happiness across various ethnic minorities. Suggestions are made for further research, including analysis of the (positive) effects of lifestyle against the (negative) effects of perceived discrimination. There is a deeper question with which the paper connects: if subjective well-being is accepted as a criterion for social evaluation, does economic development produce cultural change for the better or for the worse?