家庭资产结构、流动性约束与异质性消费者行为

Chinese Household Asset Allocation, Liquidity Constraint and Heterogeneous Agent Behavior

本文根据金融资产与住房资产结构识别异质性消费者,并基于CFPS微观调查数据,估计暂时性收入的边际消费倾向,从而考察异质性消费者流动性约束及其引起的消费行为差异问题。实证研究发现,相比于资产流动性充足的消费者,资产流动性不足的消费者暂时性收入的边际消费倾向较高,验证了资产变现难易程度对流动性约束及消费行为的影响。同时根据住房资产消费与投资的双重属性,本文建立总住房资产价值和多套房资产价值两种识别标准,进一步细分异质性消费者,并发现存在无房消费者为首套住房资产进行目标性储蓄而主动提高流动性约束水平的现象。本文从资产流动性角度,结合住房资产的双重属性以及中国住房"占有率高、刚性需求较强"的事实特征,解释了当前中国居民家庭"高财富水平"与"消费抑制"共存的现象。

In this paper, we apply the empirical methodology of two-asset model to identify the heterogeneous agents and study the effect of household asset structure on the marginal propensity to consume out of transitory income based on CFPS data. We find that compared with those with sufficient liquid assets, the agents with liquidity constraint have a higher marginal propensity to consume out of transitory income, which provides one explanation to the excessive sensitivity of consumption from the standpoint of asset liquidity and transaction cost. Moreover, in view of housing asset’s dual attributes of consumption and investment, we construct two sets of identification criteria of the net value of gross-housing and multi-housing asset to subdivide agents, the result shows that households without housing assets are initiative to improve the liquidity constraint level with the targeted savings for buying their first house. From the perspective of household assets liquidity,this paper explains the phenomenon of the coexistence of "high wealth level" and "consumption suppression" in the current Chinese households.