数字金融、家庭相对收入及脆弱性——兼论多维“鸿沟”的影响

数字金融发展是否有利于提升家庭相对收入并降低家庭脆弱性值得深入研究。基于宏微观匹配数据,本文从相对收入及脆弱性视角考察了数字金融的增收效应及其微观作用机理,并分析了多维“鸿沟”的影响。研究表明,数字金融发展,尤其是使用深度的提升,有利于提升家庭相对收入水平、降低脆弱性。微观作用机制在于,数字金融发展能够有效提升家庭金融可得性和使用性,并促进潜在投资行为和就业创业活动。进一步分析发现,数字金融发展虽然体现了普惠特征,但并未明显打破空间限制,对城镇等发达地区及具有数字设备、受过金融教育等家庭的相对收入及脆弱性展现出更强的作用;对贫困户、无数字设备等家庭的相对收入作用不显著,充分体现了破除多维“鸿沟”的紧迫性。本文为进一步优化数字金融缩小收入差距、降低家庭脆弱性的政策提供了参考。     

Household Access to Mortgages in the UK

We employ the propensity score matching approach to investigate household access to mortgages in the UK using information on 29,732 households between 2003 and 2010. We find that, on average, the probability of obtaining a mortgage is similar for White and Non-White households. However, we find that Black households with low incomes are less likely to have mortgages compared to White households with similar characteristics. Asian households, in contrast, do not seem to have a lower probability of having a mortgage.     

A Dynamic Analysis of the Demand for Life Insurance

Prior research suggests that neither the choice to own life insurance nor the amount purchased is consistently related to the presence of children in the household. While these perplexing findings are based on a static framework, we alternatively examine life insurance demand in a dynamic framework as a function of changes in household life cycle and financial condition. Our results indicate both a statistically and economically significant relation between life events, such as new parenthood, and the demand for life insurance. We also provide new evidence in support of the emergency fund hypothesis: households in which either spouse has become unemployed are more likely than other households to surrender their whole life insurance.     

Does the marginal child increase household debt? – Evidence from the new fertility policy in China

This paper investigates the effects of the number of children on household debt. Using data from the China Household Finance Survey in 2015 and 2017, this paper finds a positive relationship between the number of children in a family and household debt. To obtain a causal explanation via further analysis, this paper creates a natural experiment based on the new fertility policy implemented in China since 2016, and the results show that a marginal child significantly increases a family's household debt. Moreover, heterogeneous analysis reveals that the marginal child's effect on debt is larger both in households without a child before the marginal child's birth and in households located in urban areas. Finally, the results of this paper partly explain why the fertility rate has been low in China in recent years. The paper suggests feasible policies to raise the fertility rate.     

Nonparametric Estimation of Households’ Duration of Residence from Panel Data

In this paper we present a method that estimates the total duration of permanency for residential households starting from the lengths of stay declared by families in a micro panel survey. Throughout this study Spanish data are taken from the European Household Panel established between 1994 and 2001. The inference is based on those households surveyed in 1994 and onwards, including those who moved into their 1994-current residence after 1979. The follow-up of the household is conducted until the house is vacated or the sample observed in (year 2001) is finalized. We distinguish amongst owners, renters, and rent-free occupants or squatters (others), since these groups of households are known to exhibit a different pattern regarding residence time. Our approach for estimation is purely non parametric. This is an interesting feature, since we show that the renewal processes which represent the households’ mobility have a non-constant rate over the period 1980–1994 for owners and rent-free occupants. This fact invalidates the method of inference based on the equilibrium equation proposed by Anily et al. J Bus Econ Stat 17:373–381, 1999) in order to estimate the lengths of stay in each household.     

Financial fragility of euro area households

Until recently, the lack of appropriate harmonized micro data covering both income and wealth has been the major obstacle in analyzing financial vulnerability of the household sector in the euro area. This data problem has been partially circumvented by the dissemination of the Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS). Based on this unique data set, we put forward a stress testing method of household balance sheets in a consistent manner across euro area countries. To this end, we put forward a metric of distress which takes into account both the solvency and liquidity position of the household and demonstrate that this metric outperforms the most common metrics used in the literature, which do not take into account the households’ asset holdings. We calibrate this metric using the country level data on non-performing loan ratios and estimate stress-test elasticities in response to an interest rate shock, an income shock and a house price shock. We find that, albeit euro-area households are relatively resilient as a whole, there are large discrepancies in the impact of macroeconomic shocks across countries. Finally, we demonstrate that our framework could be used to assess some measures mitigating losses to the banks, such as engaging in the restructurings of loans that are at risk of defaulting.     

How important is variability in consumer credit limits?

Using a large panel this paper first demonstrates that individuals gain and lose access to credit frequently. The estimated credit limit volatility is larger than most estimates of income volatility and varies over the business cycle. Within a model, variable credit limits create a reason for households to hold both high interest debts and low interest savings at the same time. Using the estimated credit volatility, the model explains why around one third of American households engage in this credit card puzzle. The approach also offers an important new channel through which financial system uncertainty can affect household decisions.     

中国家庭偿债能力:衡量与影响因素

居民部门债务的快速增长和过度累积可能导致经济体系产生潜在的金融风险。本文以2011-2017年中国家庭金融调查(CHFS)数据为研究样本,选取了综合衡量家庭偿债能力的指标,并根据宏观层面的不良贷款率对该指标进行校准。进一步地,本文基于衡量结果分析了我国家庭偿债能力的影响因素。研究发现:第一,2011-2017年期间我国金融脆弱性家庭占比呈逐年上升趋势,且现阶段我国金融脆弱性家庭变动状况存在明显的人群异质性和地区异质性。应警惕居民部门杠杆率过快上升的透支效应和潜在风险,关注低收入家庭的偿债风险。第二,购房预期收益上升使家庭产生加杠杆行为,导致家庭过度负债从而使家庭偿债能力进一步恶化。本研究对我国居民部门的金融风险监测、评估和预警有一定启示。     

“加剧”还是“缓解”：政府转移支付与农户家庭未来减贫——基于贫困脆弱性视角的实证分析

基于2018年CFPS数据和Logit模型分析政府转移支付对农户家庭贫困脆弱性的影响及异质性。研究表明：政府转移支付总体上对农户家庭贫困脆弱性并未产生积极的改善效果,反而进一步促进了农户家庭贫困脆弱性增加。从区域异质性看,政府转移支付对贫困脆弱性的正向促进作用主要体现在中、西部地区,并且以中部地区尤为明显。从家庭特征看,政府转移支付主要促使收入贫困农户、非融资约束农户、非土地流转农户、非组织参与农户家庭贫困脆弱性增加,并且对绝对贫困农户的促进效应要大于相对贫困农户。对非收入贫困户、土地流转户和组织参与户家庭贫困脆弱性的影响不显著。从户主特征看,政府转移支付主要对户主健康家庭、自雇户主家庭的贫困脆弱性产生正向促进效应,对稳定受雇户主家庭贫困脆弱性的影响不显著。     

Technological change and the households’ demand for currency

It is shown that accounting for technology variations, across households and periods, is important to obtain theoretically consistent estimates of the demand for currency. An inventory model is presented where the withdrawal technology is explicitly modeled. Both the level and the interest rate elasticity of cash holdings depend on the withdrawal technology available to households. Empirical proxies for the household withdrawal technology, based on the diffusion of cash withdrawal points measured at city level, are used to test the model predictions on a panel of Italian household data over the 1993-2004 period.     

住房资产对中国家庭风险金融资产配置的影响研究

随着时代的发展,住房资产与金融资产的联系越来越紧密,逐渐向住房资产金融产品化发展,成为一种新型金融产品,呈现出货币化和金融化的趋势。本文使用probit模型、普通最小二乘法(OLS)、中介效应以及调节效应,采用2015年中国家庭金融问卷调查微观数据(CHFS)对住房资产价值细化,从住房增值、住房贷款和住房总值三个方面对居民家庭风险金融市场进入和风险金融资产配置的影响进行研究。研究发现:(1)住房总值和住房增值对居民家庭是否参与金融市场呈现显著的负向影响,住房贷款对其具有正向影响。(2)住房贷款对居民家庭风险金融资产投资有负向影响,住房增值和住房总值对其有正向影响。(3)幸福感在居民家庭是否参与金融市场和住房增值中存在部分中介效应,安全感在居民家庭风险金融投资和住房贷款之间存在部分中介效应,未来预期在居民家庭是否参与金融市场与居民家庭是否拥有住房贷款中存在调节效应。最后,根据实证结果提出完善金融市场和优化居民金融资产结构的政策建议。     

Informal household preparedness: methodological approaches to everyday practices

Abstract

Despite increasing attention to individuals’ everyday lives in the literature on risk, few studies investigate household preparedness within the everyday life context. Preparedness is most often regarded as a predefined set of capacities for dealing with emergencies. This article presents methodological approaches for studying what I suggest calling informal preparedness activities that are performed as part of daily life in households. Starting with the assumption that everyday life is enacted through culturally and socially shared practices, it is argued that preparedness is interwoven into these practices. Contrary to studying preparedness as the degree to which households are aware of and act according to a formal definition of preparedness, informal household preparedness focuses on preparedness as embedded in the routinised practices that make up everyday life. The study of informal household preparedness is based on three methodological approaches that explore these practices: (i) Performance of everyday practices, where interviews that focus on performance ask questions about what practitioners actually do; (ii) materiality, where walk-alongs are used to connect performance interviews to the material surroundings; and (iii) visualisation, where the material aspects of informal preparedness are documented. These approaches were carried out in a study of Norwegian households’ management of and preparedness for electricity and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) infrastructure breakdowns. Addressing informal and formal preparedness activities expands our understanding of household preparedness and should help policy makers recognise the active role of households and their actual resources and constraints in future preparedness planning.     

The impact of technological change on household transactions account balances: An empirical cross-section study

The purpose of this article is to determine the impact of adoption of new technology (ATMs) by households on their behavior in holding transactions balances. Previous studies show that households respond to the, availability of ATMs by reducing their currency inventories. Reduced currency needs may be reflected in a reallocation of funds from currency to transactions balances. To test this hypothesis, data from two large household surveys are utilized. It is shown that use of technology has a substantial impact on the transactions balances held by households.     

消费信贷与家庭人力资本投资

已有丰富的文献考察了消费信贷对家庭消费和投资行为的影响，但少有研究关注其对家庭人力资本投资的影响。家庭人力资本投资对于人力资本积累、经济高质量发展至关重要。基于此，本文考察了信用卡使用对家庭人力资本投资的影响及其影响机制，主要发现如下：信用卡使用显著增加了家庭人力资本投资，且这一效应具有长期动态影响并对城市、高收入、高教育程度家庭影响更为显著，这意味着信用卡消费信贷可能会增加人力资本不平等。进一步研究发现，家庭会增加劳动力供给来应对人力资本支出的增加。机制分析表明，信用卡使用主要通过增加家庭消费投资、促进消费升级、缓解家庭预算约束三种途径促进家庭人力资本投资。在风险可控的前提下，引导消费信贷流向有利于实体经济发展的领域，可助力于消费升级与人力资本积累，从而为经济发展提供新动能。     

Household portfolio allocation,uncertainty, and risk

Analysing the Panel Study of Income Dynamics and the Health and Retirement Study, we investigate the extent to which US households reduce their financial risk exposure when confronted with background risk. Our novel modelling approach – termed a deflated ordered fractional model – quantifies how the overall composition of a household portfolio with three asset classes adjusts with background risk, and is unique in recovering for any given risky asset class the shares that are reallocated to each safer asset category. Background risk exerts a significant impact on household portfolios, inducing a ‘flight from risk’ from riskier to safer assets.     

Household Life Cycle Protection: Life Insurance Holdings, Financial Vulnerability, and Portfolio Implications

Using the Survey of Consumer Finances, we examine the life cycle demand for different types of life insurance. Specifically, we test for the consumer's aversion to income volatility resulting from the death of a household's wage‐earner through the purchase of life insurance. We first develop a financial vulnerability index to control for the risk to the household. We then examine the life cycle demand for life insurance using several definitions of life insurance. We find, in contrast to previous research, that there is a relationship between financial vulnerability and the amount of term life or total life insurance purchased. In addition, we find older consumers use less life insurance to protect a certain level of financial vulnerability than younger consumers. Secondly, our study provides evidence that life insurance demand is jointly determined as part of a household's portfolio. Finally, we consider the impact of family members' nonmonetary contribution on the household's life cycle protection decision. Our results provide some evidence that households take into account the value of nonmonetary contribution in their insurance purchase.     

The determinants of integrating policy-based and community-based adaptation into coastal hazard risk management: a resilience approach

Abstract

A growing number of studies focus on improving the understanding of how the households’ adaptations can be encouraged in the process of coastal hazards and risk management. Particularly, this process is undergoing a major paradigm shift as it moves from an approach dominated by policy-based adaptation to another one in which community-based resilience building is favored. Thus, this article aims to apply a resilience approach to improve the knowledge about how public measures influence private autonomous adaptation behavior, through a transdisciplinary investigation of household adaptation behavior and its determinants. The Resilience Framework of Household Autonomous Adaptation to Climate- and Weather-Related Hazard Risks (ROHACHR) is proposed and combined with a focus group meeting and multivariate analysis to compare pre-disaster, during a disaster, post-disaster adaptations, and resilience behavior of households. Using an empirical survey of the households in three coastal municipalities in Taiwan, we examine the relationships between public measures and private adaptations that provides three distinguishing types of household behavior: ‘core’, ‘trust in governmental aid’, and ‘awareness and structures’. Results show that providing hazard risk information may be one step toward encouraging private autonomous adaptations. Several factors that help foster resilience also appear to be influential in households’ adaptation decisions, such as specific and positive governmental aid, information trust, and social capital. Based on these results, it shows that the ROHACHR is useful to characterize households’ adaptation and resilience behavior and explain how they respond to public measures. Finally, the policy implications of our findings for improving resilience of coastal communities and encouraging public-private collaboration in the process of hazard risk management are discussed.     

Participation in Micro Life Insurance and the Use of Other Financial Services in Ghana

This article investigates households’ decisions to take up micro life insurance and to use other financial services. It estimates a multivariate probit model based on Ghanaian household survey data. The results suggest a mutually reinforcing relationship between the use of insurance and the use of other formal financial services. Risk‐averse households and households who consider themselves more exposed to risk than others are found to be less likely to participate in insurance. This suggests that insurance is considered to be risky. There is indicative evidence for adverse selection and a life‐cycle effect in the uptake of insurance.     

农户风险偏好对林业投入决策的影响研究——以广东省集体林区为例

以广东省集体林区农户为研究对象,以前景理论为基础,采用经济学实验测度农户风险偏好,并用Heckman模型对样本农户风险偏好对其经营意愿与投入强度等决策的影响关系进行分析。结果表明：样本农户大多呈现风险厌恶的特征;农户的风险厌恶程度、损失厌恶程度以及对事件判断的主观概率均会对其投入决策产生不同程度的影响;其经营决策并非遵循理性经济人的收益最大化,而是遵循“安全第一”的法则,面对风险等级较高的林业项目投入意愿较弱,投入强度较低。     

债务杠杆、财务脆弱性与家庭异质性消费行为

本文通过引入财务脆弱性来描述家庭无法及时或完全履行偿债义务而发生的财务困境,实证分析了债务杠杆对家庭消费的异质性影响。理论机制分析和基于中国家庭金融调查(CHFS)数据的实证研究表明,家庭债务杠杆会提升财务脆弱性,从而弱化跨期消费平滑能力,强化消费预算约束,导致家庭落入“高边际消费倾向、低消费支出水平”的低层次消费路径上。进一步分析发现,对于通过负债投资多套房的家庭而言,高债务杠杆会明显增加不确定冲击下的财务脆弱性,进而对消费产生更大的抑制效应;亲友民间借贷的履约机制相对灵活,可以缓解财务脆弱性对家庭消费的抑制效应;债务杠杆上升引致的财务脆弱性,对耐用消费品支出的压缩效应大于非耐用消费品,对农村家庭消费支出的挤占效应大于城镇家庭。本文的研究为我国“不宜依赖消费金融扩大消费”“规范发展消费信贷”等提供了理论解释,对金融服务促进消费发展具有一定政策启示。