Post-Material Values and Economic Transition

Abstract

Zhenbo Zhong

This paper aims at finding a possible explanation for middle income trap by connecting post material values with postindustrial society. I render post material values important and treat it as dependent variable because it not only provides additional demand to economy, but also affects people’s well-being by higher involvement in political decision- making and reshaping people’s lifestyle. The paper finds that there is a strong connection between post material values and level of wealth both at the country level, measured by GPD per capita, and at the individual level, measured by subjective report of income level. Furthermore, at the national level, the increasing share of service sector in the economy, which is a mark of postindustrial society, also correlates with the presence of various post material values. However, the share of tertiary sector is not as strong a factor as wealth level in determining the possession of post material values. At the individual level, besides personal income, education is another strong factor that influences post material values. The interaction between education and personal income in determining post material values is complex: even though the general trend is that more income means more post material values, this positive correlation is reversed when the person only receives moderate amount of education. Possible explanations for this finding are proposed.

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