The Chinese Housing Provident Fund And House Purchase Decision

The housing provident fund(HPF)is designed to ensure that all the workers have houses to live in.Through Compulsory Savings System and low-interest loans,the HPF has helped improve residents’ housing consumption ability,promoted the reform of housing commercialization and residents’ self living ability.In recent years,the implementation of HPF policy is on the rise in depth,breadth and activity.Does the HPF system affect residents’ willingness to buy a house?Based on the 2019 China Househould Finance Survey(CHFS)date,this paper uses Probit model to analyze the ralationship of HPF and residents’ purchase decisions.Finally,according to the conclusions,this paper puts forward policy suggestions that are conducive to the reform and improvement of China’s HPF system.The empirical results of this paper prove the following views:①Families with HPF accounts and the balance of HPF accounts have significantly promoted the residents’ willingness to purchase houses.The withdrawal of HPF last year significantly inhibited the residents’ willingness to buy a house.②The purchase intention of families in the eastern and western regions is more obviously affected by the ownership of HPF accounts and the balance of HPF accounts.The withdrawal of HPF last year has a significant inhibitory efect on the eastern and northeast regions;Among China’s 31 provinces,cities and autonomous regions,the willingness of residents to buy houses in areas with lower GDP is more obviously promoted by whether they have a HPF account and the balance of HPF.The willingness of residents to buy houses in areas with higher GDP is significantly inhibited by whether they withdrew the HPF last year;Compared with areas with less population,residents’purchase intention in areas with more population is more affected by whether they have a HPF account,less positively affected by the balance of the HPF account,and significantly negatively affected by whether they withdrew the HPF last year.③The grouping regression results of highincome,middle-income and low-income show that having HPF account and the balance of HPF accounts significantly promote the purchase intention of middle and low-income families.The withdrawal of HPF last year has a significant negative impact on high-income and low-income at 5%and 10%;④In the comparison between rural and urban residents,the purchase intention of urban families is positively affected by the ownership of HPF account and the balance of HPF account at a significant level of 1%,negatively affected by the withdrawal of HPF last year at a significant level of 1%,and the purchase intention of rural families is positively affected by the balance of HPF at a significant level of 1%,The impact of having a HPF account and withdrawing the HPF last year is not significant.This paper also uses logit model and OLS model to carry out regression analysis on CHFS 2019 data,and probit model to carry out regression analysis on CHFS 2017 data.The test conclusion is the same as the above.Therefore,this paper proposes to continue to expand the coverage of HPF,eliminate the inequality between participants and non-participants,link with the national policy of encouraging fertility,give consideration to the families of married and childless,two-child and three-child,and improve the yield of the housing fund,bring more benefits to HPF depositors and attract more residents to participate actively.According to different economic level,income level and house price level,the HPF policy suitable for local residents should be adjusted according to local conditions.