Economic Openness and Subjective Well-being in China

Using a large household survey administered across 30 cities in September 2003, weexamine the relationship between the degree of economic openness, measured as the sum ofimports and exports as a share of GDP, and subjective well-being in urban China.We findthat respondents who live in cities with high levels of economic openness report significantlylower levels of subjective well-being ceteris paribus.We offer four explanations for thisresult; namely, inadequate social protection in the face of globalization, unfulfilled expectations,political dissatisfaction and anomie.