青年群体债务与消费相对剥夺

The Youth Group Debt and Consumption Relative Deprivation

青年群体是我国消费的主力军,降低其消费相对剥夺是释放消费潜力和提高人民群众获得感的必然要求。本文利用2017—2019年CHFS的平衡面板数据,探讨青年债务对消费相对剥夺的影响及其机制。实证结果表明:青年债务对消费相对剥夺有显著的缓解作用,促进了青年消费升级;而青年过度负债则会加剧消费相对剥夺。从债务来源来看,正规信贷更能缓解青年消费相对剥夺;从债务结构来看,具有人力资本投资属性的教育负债缓解作用最大。机制分析发现,青年通过债务降低收入不平等程度、缓解流动性约束和促进社会互动,缓解了消费相对剥夺;从债务需求和供给两端来看,青年债务对消费相对剥夺的缓解作用在“相对困难”的月光族、低就业质量、高年龄段和农村等青年群体,以及数字普惠金融发达地区更大。因此,应营造有利于青年合理消费的舆论环境,科学开发符合青年发展特点和需求的信贷产品,防范青年过度负债风险,引导青年合理消费。

The youth group is the main force of consumption in our country,and reducing the relative deprivation of consumption among the youth group is crucial for enhancing the public's sense of gain and releasing consumption potential.This paper aims to investigate the impact of youth debt on relative deprivation of consumption and its mechanism,using balanced panel data from CHFS between 2017 and 2019.The empirical results indicate that youth debt has a significant mitigating effect on relative deprivation of consumption and promotes youth consumption upgrading.However,youth over-indebtedness exacerbates their relative deprivation of consumption.Further analysis shows that,in terms of debt sources,formal credit is more effective than informal credit in mitigating the relative deprivation of youth consumption;and in terms of debt structure,education debt with human capital investment attributes has the greatest mitigating effect on debt structure.Mechanism analysis shows that youth debt reduces relative deprivation of consumption by lowering income inequality,easing liquidity constraints,and facilitating social interactions.From both the demand and supply sides of the debt spectrum,the mitigating effects of youth debt on relative deprivation of consumption are more pronounced among youths who are"relatively difficult"to pay for monthly payments,those who have low quality of employment,the older age groups,and those in rural areas,as well as in areas with developed digital financial inclusion.Therefore,it is essential to establish a public opinion environment that promotes reasonable consumption among young people.This can be achieved by scientifically developing credit products that cater to the characteristics and needs of young people,preventing the risk of over-indebtedness,and guiding them towards responsible consumption.