Research On The Impact Of Consumer Finance On The Consumption Behavior Of Middle-income Group

In 2021,China proposed to accelerate the formation of a "new development pattern" with the domestic cycle as the main body and the domestic and international cycles reinforcing each other.Consumer finance played a vital role in adapting to the trend of upgrading residents’ consumption,improving the quality of people’s lives,and continuously raising the level of residents’ consumption.Among them,the middle-income group,as a pivotal force for social stability and development,has the characteristics of relatively stable employment,strong consumption ability,and relatively abundant life.Therefore,building a high-quality consumer finance system cannot be achieved without the participation of the middle-income group.It is necessary to continuously promote the upgrading of their consumption,tap their potential to create new demand,and gradually improve the overall level of consumption.To explore the impact of consumer finance on the consumption behavior of middle-income groups,this article adopts a combination of theoretical research and empirical analysis.In terms of theoretical research,this article analyzes how consumer finance affects the consumption behavior of middle-income groups from the perspectives of smoothing mechanism,guarantee mechanism,and value-added mechanism.In terms of empirical analysis,this article collects data and uses OLS to verify the existence of payment smoothing mechanism and financial guarantee mechanism,uses 2SLS to verify the existence of budget smoothing mechanism,uses fixed effects models to verify the existence of self-protection mechanism,and finally conducts detailed analysis on the data from the CHFS(2019)to verify the existence of the value-added mechanism from the perspectives of consumption expenditure and consumption structure.The research findings indicate that:(1)Income remains the most significant factor influencing consumption behavior.Regression results show that the impact coefficient of income is always positive and greater than that of other variables.(2)The results of the smooth mechanism test demonstrate that credit cards and consumer loans have a significant promoting effect on the consumption expenditure of the middle-income group and can stimulate the occurrence of consumption behavior.(3)The test of the self-protection mechanism proves that savings have a dual effect on consumption behavior,and the purchase of commercial insurance can drive an increase in consumption expenditure.(4)The test of the value-added mechanism confirms that there is a significant relationship between the personal investment amount of the middle-income group and consumption behavior,and personal financial investment mainly affects total expenditure by increasing non-durable goods expenditure.Finally,based on the theoretical and practical aspects of how consumer finance affects the consumption behavior of the middle-income group,this article proposes relevant suggestions for the government,market,and middle-income group itself at three levels,aiming to fully utilize the role of consumer finance,promote the occurrence of consumption behavior among the middle-income group,and increase the contribution of consumption to economic growth under the new normal.