Housing prices and the subjective well-being of migrant workers: evidence from China

Owning a house is important for most young people in urban China, especially for migrants. For migrants who want to settle in their working city, high housing prices may have a negative effect on their subjective well-being. Using nationally representative migrant survey data, this study examines the relationship between housing prices and migrants' subjective well-being in China. The results indicate that housing prices play a significantly negative role in migrants' subjective well-being, especially for low-educated, female, and rural-to-urban migrants. These results are robust to instrumental variable analysis. In addition to the direct mental effect, there is evidence of two possible ways in which housing prices may affect migrants' subjective well-being. First, high housing prices increase the possibility of migrants living alone in the city, and a geographical family split decreases their subjective well-being. Second, to earn more to purchase a house in the working city in the future, they are more likely to work longer hours and decrease their leisure time, which may cause a decrease in their happiness.