The main effects of PRGDP and Gi on SWB.

The Easterlin paradox questions the link between economic growth and national well-being, emphasizing the necessity to explore the impact of economic elasticity, income inequality, and their temporal and spatial heterogeneity on subjective happiness. Despite the importance of these factors, few studies have examined them together, thus ongoing debates about the impact of economics on well-being persist. To fill this gap, our analysis utilizes 11 years of panel data from 31 provinces in China, integrating macroeconomic indicators and social media content to reassess the Easterlin paradox. We use GDP per capita and the Gini coefficient as proxies for economic growth and income inequality, respectively, to study their effects on the subjective well-being expressed by citizens on social media in mainland China. Our approach combines machine learning and fixed effects models to evaluate these relationships. Key findings include: (1) In temporal relationships, a 46.70% increase in GDP per capita implies a 0.38 increase in subjective well-being, while a 0.09 increase in the Gini coefficient means a 1.47 decrease in subjective well-being. (2) In spatial relationships, for every 46.70% increase in GDP per capita, subjective well-being rises by 0.51; however, this relationship is buffered by unfair distribution, and GDP per capita no longer significantly affects subjective well-being when the Gini index exceeds 0.609. This study makes a synthetic contribution to the debate on the Easterlin paradox, indicating that economic growth can enhance well-being if income inequality is kept below a certain level. Although these results are theoretically enlightening for the relationship between economics and national well-being globally, this study’s sample comes from mainland China. Due to differences in cultural, economic, and political factors, further research is suggested to explore these dynamics globally.伊斯特林悖论（Easterlin paradox）质疑经济增长与国民福祉之间的关联，强调有必要探究经济弹性、收入不平等及其时空异质性对主观幸福感的影响。尽管上述因素意义重大，但鲜有研究将其纳入统一分析框架，因此有关经济学对福祉影响的学术争论仍在持续。为填补这一研究空白，本研究采用中国内地31个省份为期11年的面板数据，结合宏观经济指标与社交媒体内容，重新审视伊斯特林悖论。本研究分别以人均GDP与基尼系数（Gini coefficient）作为经济增长与收入不平等的代理变量，探究二者对中国内地网民在社交媒体上所表达的主观幸福感的影响。本研究结合机器学习与固定效应模型，对上述关联展开评估。核心研究发现如下：（1）时序维度上，人均GDP提升46.70%时，主观幸福感得分增加0.38；而基尼系数每升高0.09，主观幸福感得分则降低1.47。（2）空间维度上，人均GDP每提升46.70%，主观幸福感得分提升0.51；但该关联会被收入分配不公所缓冲，当基尼系数超过0.609时，人均GDP对主观幸福感的影响不再显著。本研究为伊斯特林悖论相关争论提供了综合性视角，表明若将收入不平等控制在一定阈值内，经济增长可有效提升国民福祉。尽管上述研究结果对全球范围内经济学与国民福祉的关联研究具有理论启示意义，但本研究的样本仅来自中国内地。受文化、经济与政治因素差异的影响，未来仍需开展全球范围内的相关研究，以进一步探究该动态关联。