Download pdf
The Impact of Consumption Downgrading on Housing Purchase Decision of Chinese Middle Class: An Analysis Based on the Life Cycle Theory and Marriage Market Theory
- 1 Ojai Valley School, Ojai, CA, US, 93023
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
In the face of the trend of consumption downgrading, the purchasing decisions of the middle class regarding real estate have undergone new changes. Existing literature on the housing market and purchasing behavior of the middle class under the trend of consumption downgrading suggests that the purchasing power of the middle class has generally decreased, with many unable to bear the costs of mortgage loans and other housing-related financial burdens. As a result, the number of people purchasing real estate in the future may decrease. Based on existing research and practical needs, this paper summarizes the trends of previous studies through a literature review, pointing out their shortcomings. The paper further explores the decision-making process of the middle class in the context of consumption downgrading and analyzes the reasons for this situation using the Life Cycle Theory and Marriage Market Theory. The goal of this research is to provide policy recommendations for policymakers and reasonable suggestions for middle-class housing consumption decisions. The analysis shows that the middle class tends to rent housing or purchase small-sized properties, and that owning property is an important factor in the marriage market, especially from adulthood to the marriage stage.
Keywords
Consumption downgrading, Middle Class, Marriage Market Theory, Life Cycle Theory, Real Estate
[1]. National Bureau of statistics, “2019 National Economic and Social Development Statistical Bulletin”, 2020.
[2]. Ding, Yemin, Lee Chin, and Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary. "Urban housing prices and consumption structure upgrading: Different relationships in urban and rural China." International Journal of Strategic Property Management 28.5 (2024): 334-348.
[3]. Zeng, Hui, et al. "A Mechanistic Study of the Coexistence of High House Prices, Low Income, and High Homeownership Rates in China." Sustainability 16.22 (2024): 9716.
[4]. Zhou, Shikai, and Sangui Wang. "Gender Imbalance in the Marriage Market and Housing Demand: Evidence from China." Sustainability 16.14 (2024): 5861.
[5]. Wu, Zhilin. “An Analysis of the Mate Selection Views and Influencing Factors of Post-90s College Students.” [J] Literature Education, 2017, (10)
[6]. Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, 2022 China Quality of Life Report, 2023.
Cite this article
Li,Z. (2025).The Impact of Consumption Downgrading on Housing Purchase Decision of Chinese Middle Class: An Analysis Based on the Life Cycle Theory and Marriage Market Theory.Advances in Economics, Management and Political Sciences,162,31-35.
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study will be available from the authors upon reasonable request.
Disclaimer/Publisher's Note
The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s). EWA Publishing and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content
About volume
Volume title: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Business and Policy Studies
© 2024 by the author(s). Licensee EWA Publishing, Oxford, UK. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and
conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. Authors who
publish this series agree to the following terms:
1. Authors retain copyright and grant the series right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons
Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this
series.
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the series's published
version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial
publication in this series.
3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and
during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See
Open access policy for details).