Economic development, social integration, and the subjective well-being of residents in the western regions of China: based on the perspective of multi-ethnic China

Based on a large sample of survey data collected from 12 Chinese provinces, municipalities directly under the central government and autonomous regions in the western regions of China, this article discusses the subjective well-being of the residents of all ethnic groups in the western regions, along the two dimensions of economic development and social integration. The results show that the overall subjective well-being of all ethnic groups in Western China is good, and the percentage of people who indicated that they often feel happy is generally higher than the percentage of those who often feel unhappy. The residents of ethnic minority status such as the Huis and the Uyghurs experience good subjective well-being more often than residents of other ethnic groups. Microscopic indicators, such as the level of household income, and macroscopic indicators, such as the level of regional economic development, can exert significant positive impacts on the subjective well-being of residents from various ethnic groups. In addition, emotional integration, trust-based integration, and integration through communication—as important variables of social identity and social acceptance—can also have significant positive impacts on improving the subjective well-being of residents of all ethnic groups. The article concludes that, for the residents of all ethnic groups living in the less developed western regions of China, economic development and increased income remain the key means of improving the subjective well-being, and promoting inter-ethnic interactions and strengthening social integration are also positive methods of effectively improving the subjective well-being. © The Author(s) 2021.