CUEB Holds 2024 International Conference on Household Finance
On June 3, the 2024 International Conference on Household Finance was held in Beijing, hosted by CUEB and the Financial Economics Committee of the China Economics Annual Conference and organized by the School of Finance of CUEB and the Innovation Center for Fintech and Financial Econometrics. The conference delved into household finance and comprised keynote speeches, invited papers, and four parallel academic forums. Wu Weixing, Deputy Party Secretary and President of CUEB, delivered the keynote speech. Professor Yin Zhichao, member of Party Standing Committee and Vice President of CUEB, gave the welcome address. The opening ceremony was chaired by Professor Zhou Kaiguo, Dean of the School of Finance.
In his welcome speech, Yin thanked all the attending experts and scholars, introduced the history and status of CUEB and the School of Finance. Yin emphasized the significance of household finance as a branch of financial research. He noted that this was the first international conference on household finance hosted by CUEB. Additionally, he provided a detailed analysis of the income gap among Chinese households.
Yin Zhichao delivers speech
Zhou Kaiguo hosts the meeting
The keynote speeches were delivered by Professor Sumit Agarwal from the National University of Singapore (NUS), Professor Gan Li from Texas A&M University (TAMU) and Southwestern University of Finance and Economics (SWUFE), and Professor Wu Weixing. This session was chaired by Professor Yin Zhichao.
Sumit Agarwal reported on Household Sustainability, examining the current state and prospects of this topic from three aspects:
· Environmental Perspective: Agarwal discussed the potential for future household finance research to align with the Dual-carbon Goals (carbon peaking and carbon neutrality), prioritizing areas like energy consumption and environmental protection.
·Social Perspective: He explored micro topics including the education economics and minimum wage issues.
· Traditional Household Finance Perspective: Agarwal addressed issues related to financial sustainability, consumption, and savings.
Sumit Agarwal delivers speech
Gan Li delivered a keynote report titled The Inhibitory Effect of House Price Growth on the Development of the Rental Market. The report began by examining several fundamental characteristics of the Chinese real estate market. Gan established a theoretical model that includes both homeowner and non-homeowner households under a user cost analysis framework. He delved into the relationship between house price changes, rental supply, and rent prices. Gan pointed out that a higher rate of house price growth has, to some extent, hindered the development of China's housing rental market, identifying it as one of the reasons for the market's underdevelopment.
Gan Li delivers speech
Wu Weixing delivered a keynote report titled "International Trade Costs and Household Financial Behavior." The report delves into the relationship between rising international trade costs and the Venture Capital Investment by Chinese households. Wu points out that increasing international trade costs significantly reduce both the probability and the level of household participation in Venture Capital Investment markets. Further research revealed that rising international trade costs mainly influence investment decisions by increasing household income risk, reducing household income, and escalating financial market risk.
Wu Weixing delivers speech
The invited papers were delivered by Professor Liu Yuzhen, PhD advisor at Peking University (PKU), Guanghua School of Management and Director of the Center for Financial Development; Professor Yi Xingjian, Vice President of Guangdong University of Finance (GDUF) and PhD advisor at the School of Finance of Guangdong University of Foreign Studies (GDUFS); and Professor Kuang Weida, from the Department of Finance at Renmin Business School of Renmin University of China (RUC). This session was chaired by Professor Zhou Kaiguo.
Liu Yu-Jane reported on Hedging by Giving: Spiritual Insurance and Religious Donations. She matched household finance with philosophy, focusing on the relationship between insurance spending and religious donations. She found that higher income uncertainty leads to increased donations, particularly religious donations.
Liu Yu-Jane delivers speech
Yi Xingjian’s report on Reasonable Debt Promotes Shared Development: Evidence from Consumption Inequality, examined the impact of household debt on consumption inequality in China and its underlying mechanisms. He found that a reasonable scale of household debt and an increase in the debt asset ratio will significantly reduce the consumption inequality.
Yi Xingjian delivers speech
Kuang Weida reported on Housing Price, Bequest Motives, and Old-Age Financial Support. He constructed an iterative life-cycle model to explore the relationship between housing prices and elderly care. The research showed a positive correlation between the two variables.
Kuang Weida delivers speech
During the conference, experts and scholars exchanged ideas in four parallel sessions on subjects such as Digital Finance, Household Finance, Household Financial Vulnerability, Macroeconomic Policy and Household Finance, and Household Finance and Common Prosperity.
Attendees included experts and scholars from a range of domestic and foreign universities, including the NUS, TAMU, PKU, Tsinghua University, RUC, University of International Business and Economics, SWUFE, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, GDUFS, Beijing Technology and Business University, Qingdao University, GDUF, Inner Mongolia University of Finance and Economics, Beijing Wuzi University, and Hebei Finance University. Representatives of teachers and graduate students from the School of Finance participated in the conference.
