The mediation of confidence.

As an essential dimension of economic inequality, consumption inequality is tightly associated with public welfare. This study investigates the effect of consumption inequality on individuals’ subjective well-being (SWB) in China using data from the 2014, 2018, and 2020 China Family Panel Studies. The findings indicate that consumption inequality has a significant negative impact on SWB. Specifically, for every unit increase in consumption inequality, the probability of individuals rating their SWB as “Happy” and “Very happy” decreases by 0.37% and 5.45% respectively. In addition, individuals’ confidence about their future serves as an intermediary in the connection between consumption inequality and SWB. The investigation of heterogeneity evidences that the adverse impact of consumption inequality on SWB is more pronounced in terms of subsistence and development expenditures. Consumption inequality affects SWB more seriously among lower-income and urban residents. Overall, this study holds important implications for addressing economic inequality to bolster individuals’ welfare.

作为经济不平等的核心维度之一，消费不平等与公共福祉息息相关。本研究采用2014年、2018年及2020年中国家庭追踪调查（China Family Panel Studies）的数据，考察中国情境下消费不平等对个体主观福祉（subjective well-being, SWB）的影响。研究结果表明，消费不平等对个体主观福祉存在显著负向影响：具体而言，消费不平等每提升1个单位，个体将自身主观福祉评级为“幸福”与“非常幸福”的概率分别下降0.37%与5.45%。此外，个体对未来的信心在消费不平等与主观福祉的关联中发挥中介作用。异质性分析结果显示，消费不平等对主观福祉的负向影响在生存型与发展型消费支出维度上更为突出；同时，低收入群体与城镇居民受消费不平等的负面影响更为显著。总体而言，本研究对于通过治理经济不平等以提升个体福祉具有重要的实践价值与政策启示。