Abstract
Does car ownership matter for urban well-being and planning? By using data from the China Household Finance Survey, we test how a variety of factors, particularly car ownership, impact happiness, the cognitive dimension of well-being. We find that vehicle possession does enhance happiness in urban China as a status good, at least in the short term. Driving a luxury car brings the owner more satisfaction and joy than driving a frugal car. The long-term detrimental impact of the booming vehicle fleet on urban areas is discussed and the contention about the car ownership controls is also debated. By doing so, we hope to provide insights on the hedonic aspect of car consumption and help transport practitioners develop viable strategies to promote sustainable transportation.
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Data Availability
The datasets analyzed during the current study are available at https://chfs.swufe.edu.cn/sjzx.htm
The author is responsible for correctness of the statements provided in the manuscript.
Notes
Oh, J. E., Transport for Development (2021).
The World Bank Statistics (2015).
Oh, J. E., Transport for Development (2021).
Bureau of Transportation Statistics, U.S. 2021.
Sumit et al. (2020).
National Bureau of Statistics of China (2020).
IPSOS is a global market research and public opinion specialist.
The latest CHFS data is Wave 2019. This database, however, is not accessible for scholars outside mainland China.
S. Sha, T. Huang and E. Gabardi (2013).
Statistics from the China Passenger Car Association (2021).
For example, China’s transport spending hit $72.66 billion in the first quarter of 2019 alone.
Number of Online Ride-Hailing Users in China, 2016–2021, Statista.
Ride-Hailing vs. Ride-Sharing: The Key Difference and Why It Matters. Ecolane; October 18, 2018.
Daniel Ren Business | China Business (2022)
China’s transition to electric vehicles, Nancy W. Stauffer (April 29, 2021).
China: Urbanization 2021 | Statista.
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Li, Y. The Development of Vehicle Ownership and Urban Happiness in China. Int. Journal of Com. WB 6, 301–325 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42413-023-00193-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42413-023-00193-x