Economics and Management School, Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
Business School, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China.
PLoS One. 2022 May 11;17(5):e0265851. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0265851. eCollection 2022.
The increasing family leverage and the expansion of income inequality have aroused widespread concern in society. Based on the data from the China Household Finance Survey (CFPS), this paper constructs the Gini coefficient and household credit index, and aims to research the impact of income inequality, borrowing level on consumption in different regions, urban and rural areas. The results indicate that the increasing of income inequality significantly restrained the increase of household consumption, while the moderate increase of household leverage can promote household consumption to a certain extent. According to the conclusion of this article, in order to realize the sustainable growth of consumption and upgrade of structure, the government should take measures to stimulate domestic demand: (1) For the central and western regions, the overall wealth level of households should be improved and the borrowing level of residents should be appropriately increased; (2) For the eastern region, the income inequality should be controlled and reduced the negative effects of income inequality on sustainable consumption growth. This research provides evidence for understanding the relationship between income inequality, household leverage ratio and consumption, and sheds light on the formulation of related policies.
家庭杠杆率的上升和收入不平等的扩大引起了社会的广泛关注。本文基于中国家庭金融调查（CHFS）的数据，构建了基尼系数和家庭信贷指数，旨在研究不同地区、城乡收入不平等、借贷水平对消费的影响。结果表明，收入不平等的加剧显著抑制了家庭消费的增长，而家庭杠杆率的适度增加在一定程度上可以促进家庭消费。根据本文的结论，为了实现消费的可持续增长和结构升级，政府应该采取措施刺激国内需求：（1）对于中西部地区，应提高家庭的整体财富水平，适当增加居民的借贷水平；（2）对于东部地区，应控制收入不平等，减少收入不平等对可持续消费增长的负面影响。本研究为理解收入不平等、家庭杠杆率和消费之间的关系提供了证据，为相关政策的制定提供了参考。
