Political party affiliation and subjective well‐being: Evidence from China

• Published date: 01 December 2024
• Author: Xinxin Ma
• Date: 01 December 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/asej.12344

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Political party affiliation and subjective well-being:

Evidence from China

Xinxin Ma

Faculty of Economics, Hosei University, Tokyo, Japan

Correspondence

Xinxin Ma, Faculty of Economics, Hosei University, 4342 Machita-shi, Aiharamachi, Tokyo 194-0298, Japan.

Email: xxma@hosei.ac.jp

Funding information

Japan Society for the Promotion Science (JSPS)KAKENHI: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B),

Grant/Award Number: 20H01489; the Joint Usage and Research Center, Institute of Economic Research,

Hitotsubashi University, Grant/Award Number: IERPK2323

Abstract

Utilizing longitudinal data from the China Family Panel Studies spanning from 2010 to

2020, this study examined the impact of affiliation with the Communist Party of China

(CPC) on subjective well-being (SWB). The results indicate that CPC affiliation exhibited

a positive influence on an individual’s SWB, and this conclusion was supported through

a series of robustness checks. However, the positive effect diminished when addressing

the issue of individual heterogeneity. The favorable effect of CPC affiliation was more

pronounced among middle-aged and older generations compared to the younger genera-

tion. The positive influence of CPC affiliation on life satisfaction experienced a decline in

the recent period. Lastly, the positive impact of CPC affiliation on SWB could potentially

be attributed to five plausible pathways: an increase in income, augmentation of assets,

elevation in social status, the possibility of engaging in the public sector workforce, and a

heightened sense of optimism for the future.

KEYWORDS

China, Communist Party of China, happiness, life satisfaction, political party affiliation

JEL CLASSIFICATION

I31, P21, P37, H11

DOI: 10.1111/asej.12344

© 2025 East Asian Economic Association and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Received: 14 November 2023; Accepted: 17 October 2024

Asian Econ. J. 2024;38:507–532. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/asej 507

1|INTRODUCTION

The political system, whether democratic or dictatorial, as well as its instability,

affects a nation’s income equality and economic growth (Acemoglu et al., 2019).

For example, Communist Party affiliation in emerging economies increases indi-

vidual or household income (Ma & Iwasaki, 2021; Markussen & Ngo, 2019).

Former Communist Party members in former Soviet Union (FSU) countries

(e.g., Russia) and countries in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) maintained

high economic outcomes during the transition period (Geishecker & Haisken-

DeNew, 2004; Gerber, 2000; Otrachshenko et al., 2023). Based on the absolute

income and relative income hypotheses (Leibenstein, 1950), when an individ-

ual’s political party background affects their income levels, it may also affect

their subjective well-being (SWB) (e.g., life satisfaction and happiness). Mandel

and Omorogbe (2014) and Ozmen et al. (2018) also found that in the US,

Republican Party supporters report significantly higher life satisfaction com-

pared to their Democratic Party counterparts, suggesting that political party

affiliation also significantly affects SWB in advanced capitalist countries.

Unlike multiparty and democratic political systems prevalent in developed

countries, most emerging market economies in FSU and CEE countries under-

went a rapid transformation of their political systems, from the Communist

Party dictatorship system to multiparty democracy in the 1990s (Otrachshenko

et al., 2023). However, despite the dissolution of the Communist Party organiza-

tion in Germany (previously the German Democratic Republic), FSU, and

CEE countries, party loyalty and consciousness of political organizations

(or the central government) persist (Deter & Lange, 2023; Otrachshenko

et al., 2023).

Since 1949, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has been China’s domi-

nant political party. The Constitution of the People’s Republic of China declares

that “China is led by the CPC.”Despite the progress of market-oriented eco-

nomic reforms, CPC organizations continue to exert influence over the manage-

ment of both state-owned enterprises (SOEs) or non-SOEs. Companies in both

sectors must accept management, supervision, and guidance from primary party

organizations. Consequently, CPC affiliation is strongly correlated with influen-

tial roles in both the public and private sectors; the CPC remains dominant in

China’s political and economic sphere (Ma & Iwasaki, 2021). By the end of

2016, the CPC had 89.447 million members,

1

making China the largest emerg-

ing market economy with the greatest number of Communist Party members

worldwide. Since 2013, the Xi Jinping regime has strengthened control over the

political system and the economy through CPC organizations, alongside poverty

alleviation policies and anti-corruption campaigns targeting CPC elites to

1

Based on the information on the Xinhua News Network Corporation’s website (http://www.xinhuanet.com/

politics/2017-06/30/c_1121242479.htm) (accessed on 20 May 2024).

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