Macro and micro fairness, common prosperity and subjective well-being: an empirical analysis based on the 2010 CGSS

Abstract Rather than serving merely as an ideological construct, common prosperity can be conceptualized as an analytical concept amenable to both theoretical reflection and empirical investigation. When aligned with microjustice principles, it fosters efficiency and enhances individual well-being by enabling people to attain outcomes that they justly deserve. At the macro level, when common prosperity embodies macrojustice, it advances collective well-being and promotes happiness by reducing perceived uncertainties in social life. Drawing on data from the 2010 China General Social Survey (CGSS2010), this study finds that perceptions of micro-level fairness are significantly associated with recognition of microjustice principles, but not with endorsement of the macrojustice principle of minimizing income disparities. Conversely, perceptions of macro level fairness are significantly related to recognition of the income disparity–minimization principle, but not to microjustice principles. Both perceptions are negatively associated with endorsement of egalitarian principles, while each independently enhances subjective well-being, with their effects being additive.