Topic: Household Finance in China: Theory and Practice
Speaker: Guozhong Zhu, Associate Professor, Alberta School of Business, University of Alberta
Host by Prof. GUO Hongdong
Comment by Dr.GONG Binlei
Time: Nov.15 (Thursday) 14:00-15:15
Venue: Qizhen Hotel 1213, Zijingang Campus
Speaker's Bio:
Guozhong Zhu graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2009 with a Ph.D. in Economics. Before joining University of Alberta, he was an assistant professor in Guanghua School of Management of Peking University. His research focuses on household finance and real estate. Professor Zhu has also carried out some studies on human capital accumulation, labor supply and home production. The main approach is quantitative macro, emphasizing that a dynamic macro model should be able to deliver key statistics found in the data, especially in micro data from sources such as PSID, SCF and CEX.
Abstract:
We show household finance patterns in China, and compare them with patterns found in the US data. Relative to the US, savings rate in China is high, stock market participation rate is low, stocks market investment as a fraction of total wealth is also low for market participants, and housing is predominantly important in portfolio. These salient patterns have three potential drivers. The first driver we consider is the institutional features, such as the weak social safety net or the high degree of income uncertainty. Secondly, the distinct patterns between China and the US can be driven by different preferences. For example, it is likely that households in China are more patient, or they care more about inter-generational transfer. The third driver we consider is the degree of financial sophistication, as captured by stock market participation costs and adjustment costs. We show simulation results under the assumption of improved financial sophistication of households in China.
Topic 2: A Bayesian State-Space Approach for Invasive Species Management: The Case of Spotted Wing Drosophila
Speaker: Xiaoli Fan, Assistant Professor, Department of Resource Economics and Environmental Sociology (REES)
