Household gift-giving consumption and subjective well-being: evidence from rural China

Gift-giving consumption is an important part of household consumption and is closely linked to people’s welfare, particularly in rural China. By employing data from the China Family Panel Studies, this study investigates whether and how household gift-giving consumption affects subjective well-being in rural China. The findings suggest that such consumption has a significant and positive effect on the subjective well-being of rural residents in China, and social trust mediates the relationship between household gift-giving consumption and subjective well-being. Furthermore, the study conducts a robustness analysis based on various age and income groups, and the results demonstrate that gift-giving consumption has a significant positive effect on the subjective well-being of younger people, but no significant effect on the subjective well-being of middle-aged and elderly people. In addition, household gift-giving consumption significantly improves the subjective well-being of low-income people in rural China, but it does not have a statistically significant effect on high-income people. The findings of this study have some implications for policymakers.