HOUSING DIFFERENCES, CREDIT CONSTRAINTS, AND HOUSEHOLD ENERGY CONSUMPTION: AN EMPIRICAL STUDY FROM HOUSEHOLD TRACKING SURVEY DATA IN CHINA

ABSTRACT Although many studies have shown that housing wealth impacts household consumption behavior patterns, they have not incorporated housing characteristics into their research framework. Against the background of China’s reformed housing system, this study therefore constructs a theoretical framework of housing differences, credit constraints, and household energy consumption by adopting sample data from China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) of 7064 households in 25 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China. Multiple regression methodology is used based on the emission peak and carbon neutrality goal proposed by the Chinese government in 2021. The results show that housing differences significantly impact household energy consumption; housing assets have a significant wealth effect on household energy consumption; energy consumption of house owners increases due to the appreciation of their housing; and that the housing proportion of a household’s gross assets has a significant negative impact on household energy consumption. Furthermore, based on spatial distribution, it is found that the energy consumption level of households with housing properties in the developed regions of central and eastern China is significantly higher than that in the western regions. The study provides empirical evidence for China to build a linkage mechanism between energy policy and real estate policy and provides empirical support for the implementation of differentiated policies of energy consumption.