How May Consumption be Affected by Housing and Financial Assets in China and the Euro Countries?

Abstract

This paper uses samples of household data from Chinese Family Panel Studies (CFPS) and Eurosystem Household Finance and Consumption Survey (HFCS) to estimate the consumption effects of both housing and financial assets. Our results show that components of household wealth have different impacts on consumption. The estimated housing asset elasticity of consumption is larger than financial asset elasticity of consumption both in China and Euro countries. By analyzing the wealth effect of housing in different age groups, we found that the wealth effect of housing and financial assets on consumption is larger for elderly families than for younger families in the Eurozone, but opposite result is obtained in China.