Energy poverty, children's wellbeing and the mediating role of academic performance : evidence from China
- Authors: Zhang, Quanda , Appau, Samuelson , Kodom, Peter
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Energy Economics Vol. 97, no. (2021), p.
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Using data from the China Family Panel Studies, we examine the effects of energy poverty on children's subjective wellbeing. We find that energy poverty reduces children's subjective wellbeing: a standard deviation increase in energy poverty is associated with 0.353 standard deviation decrease in subjective wellbeing. This general conclusion is robust to alternative ways of measuring subjective wellbeing and energy poverty, a suite of estimation techniques, and other sensitivity checks. Additionally, we find that academic performance is an important channel through which energy poverty lowers children's subjective wellbeing. Our findings point out the need to involve children both in household practices and policy decisions that seek to address energy poverty, especially when it pertains to the children's wellbeing. © 2021 Elsevier B.V.
Social capital inequality and subjective wellbeing of older Chinese
- Authors: Appau, Samuelson , Awaworyi Churchill, Sefa , Smyth, Russell , Zhang, Quanda
- Date: 2022
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Social Indicators Research Vol. 160, no. 2-3 (2022), p. 541-563
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Using longitudinal data from the China Family Panel Studies, this study provides insights on comparative wellbeing outcomes for older people who are institutionally segregated into clusters that produce uneven social capital. We present the first study that examines how institutionalized social capital inequality, measured by the social capital gap generated by hukou (household registration) status in China, affects the wellbeing of older people. Our results show that high levels of social capital inequality are associated with lower subjective wellbeing, measured by life satisfaction. This general conclusion is robust to a number of sensitivity checks including alternative ways of measuring subjective wellbeing and inequality. We also find that the negative relationship between social capital inequality and subjective wellbeing is strongest for people with a non-urban hukou living in urban areas. Our findings highlight the need for policies aimed at narrowing the social capital gap and the dismantling of institutional structures that hinder upward social capital mobility. © 2020, Springer Nature B.V.