This research is among the first to link the literatures on migration and on subjective well-being in developing countries.  It poses the question: why do rural-urban migrant households settled in urban China have an average happiness score lower than that of rural households?  It examines the...

This paper may be the first to link the literatures on migration and on subjective well-being in developing countries. It poses the question: why do rural-urban migrant households settled in urban China have an average happiness score lower than that of rural households? Three basic hypotheses...

A specially designed household survey for rural China is used to analyse the determinants of aspirations for income, proxied by reported minimum income need, and the determinants of subjective well-being, both satisfaction with life and satisfaction with income.  It is found that aspiration...