社会网络、风险分担与家庭储蓄率——来自中国城镇居民的证据

Social Network,Risk Sharing and Household Savings Rate——Evidence from Urban China

社会网络在正规金融和保险市场较健全的城镇地区是否能够通过风险分担降低家庭储蓄率,现有文献对此问题研究得极少。基于国家统计局2006—2014年4省市城镇家庭面板数据,本文运用双倍差分法研究发现:社会网络能够为城镇居民分担健康和收入风险,并进而降低其家庭储蓄率。本文有助于我们理解社会网络在中国城镇居民消费和储蓄决策中的影响,也意味着进一步完善中国城镇地区的信贷和保险市场将有助于刺激居民消费和扩大内需。

A rich literature documents the important effect of social network on sharing risks and then reducing household savings rate in rural areas.However,very few studies investigate its effect in urban areas.Employing Urban Household Survey panel data from NBS of China,we take the“Eight Rules”as a quasi-natural experiment,and apply Difference in Differences method to identify the causal effect of social network on urban household savings rate.We find that social network plays an important role in sharing health and income risks,and helps to reduce household savings rate.