Materialism and conspicuous consumption in China: a cross‐cultural examination

With the growing rise in consumer spending and economic power in Asian societies, it is increasingly important to explore the implications of these developments on consumer culture. This cross‐cultural study first discusses the rise of materialism and conspicuous consumption in post‐revolution China then examines differences in these phenomena between young adult consumers, aged 18–35, living in urban China and the United States. Utilizing survey data from over 600 respondents, significant differences were found in both materialism and conspicuous consumption, with Chinese young adults scoring higher in both variables. The findings show, that compared with past comparative studies, it appears both materialism and conspicuous consumption are on the rise among urban Chinese consumers.     

国防支出对经济增长的外部性效应及规模效应的分析

本文采用两部门外部性模型,研究中国国防开支对经济增长的外部性效应及规模效应,利用1978-2008年时间序列数据进行了实证分析,并且与学术界1960-2000年的研究结果做了对比。1978-2008期间的实证研究结果表明:规模效应为负,外部性效应为正。     

对新疆师范大学留学生健身消费行为现状的调查与分析

本文运用文献资料法,问卷调查法,数理统计等调查方法,通过对新师范大学留学生健身消费行为进行调查与分析,研究新疆师范大学留学生健身消费行为的现状及影响留学生健身消费的因素,为更加完善留学生的付费健身以及健身意识的形成提供理论依据和参考。     

国防支出与经济增长均衡关系的理论和实证研究——基于门槛回归模型的检验分析

文章首先将国防支出纳入Solow增长模型进行理论分析,假定国防支出通过影响技术进步对经济增长产生影响。与现有实证分析不同,文章基于1952-2008年中国的有关时间序列数据,尝试运用非线性门槛回归模型来分析国防支出与经济增长之间的数量关系。研究发现:国防支出与经济增长之间存在门槛效应,国防支出占GDP的比例低于3.434%时,国防支出占GDP的比例的增加不利于经济增长,且这种负面作用较为显著;当该比例高于3.434%时,该比例的增加将显著促进经济增长。当然,该比例并非越低越好,也并非越高越好,其局部最优规模由次级门槛值决定。     

生活方式、消费者创新性与新产品购买行为的关系

本文在文献研究的基础上归纳出描述和测量生活方式的四个主要维度:时尚意识、领导意识、价格意识和怀旧意识。基于1006位重庆消费者的问卷调查所得数据,检验生活方式、消费者创新性和新产品购买行为三者的关系,发现生活方式能显著地影响消费者创新性,而消费者创新性对新产品购买行为有显著的促进作用,消费者创新性在生活方式与新产品购买行为的关系中起完全中介作用。     

国际谷物价格波动对中国经济的影响研究

运用有向无环图(DAG)方法并结合基于SVAR模型的脉冲响应和预测方差分解方法分析国际大宗谷物价格波动对中国经济的传导途径及其效应。研究发现,国际食品价格波动影响国内消费物价水平和工业产出的传导途径不明显,其波动只能直接传导到国内的农副产品购进价格,进而直接或间接通过影响国内工业品出厂价格传导到国内消费物价水平,为中国治理通货膨胀提供了理论依据。     

美国信用消费法律制度及其对中国的启示

美国作为世界上信用消费制度最发达的国家之一,其信用消费立法一直备受关注。2009年的《金融改革方案》虽然确立了消费者保护的目标,但也给经济发展带来了更大的不确定性。在信用消费立法联邦化的趋势下,州立法实施更为严格的消费者保护标准受到联邦优先权的重压,也从实质上削弱了对金融消费者的保护力度。中国应当借鉴美国信用消费制度,确立政府的监管目标和价值取向,以国家立法和地方立法相结合作为主要立法模式,完善信息披露制度并建立完备的信用评估体系,设立专门的信用消费者保护机构,以更好地维护消费者权益。     

中国个人所得税的性质及其效果分析

以工资薪金税收为主体的个人所得税是一种消费者税。由于起征额的存在,个人所得税并不是一种完全的所得税,而是一种个人收入调节税。基于消费者税的理论基础,提出了关于中国代表性居民纳税人的理论平均税负的一个简单模型,以及一个关于中国个人所得税对全部税收的贡献率的理论计算公式。中国个人所得税改革应着眼于如何改善工薪所得税的累进性,增强税收的收入再分配职能,相对提高低收入劳动者的实际报酬。为此,应将个人所得税易名为个人收入调节税,减少税率档次,提高免征额。     

To Justify or Not to Justify: The Role of Anticipated Regret on Consumers’ Decisions to Upgrade Technological Innovations

Prior research suggests that adoption decisions are primarily based on product features and experiential opportunities, like trial and observation. Our research follows inquiries that identify anticipated regret (AR) as an emotion integral to consumer decision making. Prior research and current retailing practice assume that AR can be alleviated by compelling product attribute-based rationales for immediate purchase. These rationales often take the form of direct attribute comparisons between the current best and the future technologies. Counter-intuitively, we find that giving consumers attribute-based justifications for immediate purchase produces a uniform level of AR and purchase delay regardless of the perceived rate of innovation (PRI). However, under conditions of low PRI and no justification, AR decreases significantly. A clear implication of our findings is that firms marketing current technology should not rush to provide consumers with justifications for immediate upgrade since such communications will remind consumers of what they might miss if they adopt now, resulting in increased AR and purchase delays. Instead, we suggest that retailers focus promotional efforts on highlighting the hedonic benefits consumers experience by adopting today.