Strengthening purchasing power,stimulating consumer confidence,and improving the structure and standards of consumption are essential for China's successful economic development.Human capital is linked to income,w...Strengthening purchasing power,stimulating consumer confidence,and improving the structure and standards of consumption are essential for China's successful economic development.Human capital is linked to income,wealth,social status,and cognitive preferences,and plays a long-term role in consumption growth.This study explored the impact of human capital on conspicuous consumption in China,using a novel individual-level measure-the visibility index-to capture conspicuous consumption.Drawing on data from the China Family Panel Studies(2012-2020),a comprehensive human capital index was constructed by combining cognitive and noncognitive abilities through the entropy weight method.To address potential endogeneity,the historical distribution of Confucian temples and ancient academies was used as an instrumental variable for human capital.The empirical results show that improvements in human capital can significantly increase conspicuous consumption,particularly among middle-income groups,rural residents,and nonagricultural workers.A key contribution of the study is the clear identification of social status signaling as the primary mechanism linking human capital to conspicuous consumption.These findings offer new insights into consumption behavior and human capital development in China's increasingly complex and rapidly evolving socioeconomic landscape.展开更多
This article analyzes the confluence of economy and ritual,focusing on the pre-death ritual in Gling rgya village,Reb gong of Qinghai province,contemporary Amdo.Due to educational and economic developments,significant...This article analyzes the confluence of economy and ritual,focusing on the pre-death ritual in Gling rgya village,Reb gong of Qinghai province,contemporary Amdo.Due to educational and economic developments,significant changes have been taking place in the material circumstances of Tibetan households in Gling rgya and the surrounding villages in Reb gong since the 1980s,and these transformations have shaped their performance of the pre-death ritual(gson chos).Not only has the predeath ritual itself become a social obligation,the expenditure of the ritual has increased to such an extent that it has become a huge financial burden for most families.As some families compete to increase ritual expenses,the ritual has become a public display of wealth and social prestige,which is analyzed with the concept of"Conspicuous Consumption".展开更多
文摘Strengthening purchasing power,stimulating consumer confidence,and improving the structure and standards of consumption are essential for China's successful economic development.Human capital is linked to income,wealth,social status,and cognitive preferences,and plays a long-term role in consumption growth.This study explored the impact of human capital on conspicuous consumption in China,using a novel individual-level measure-the visibility index-to capture conspicuous consumption.Drawing on data from the China Family Panel Studies(2012-2020),a comprehensive human capital index was constructed by combining cognitive and noncognitive abilities through the entropy weight method.To address potential endogeneity,the historical distribution of Confucian temples and ancient academies was used as an instrumental variable for human capital.The empirical results show that improvements in human capital can significantly increase conspicuous consumption,particularly among middle-income groups,rural residents,and nonagricultural workers.A key contribution of the study is the clear identification of social status signaling as the primary mechanism linking human capital to conspicuous consumption.These findings offer new insights into consumption behavior and human capital development in China's increasingly complex and rapidly evolving socioeconomic landscape.
文摘This article analyzes the confluence of economy and ritual,focusing on the pre-death ritual in Gling rgya village,Reb gong of Qinghai province,contemporary Amdo.Due to educational and economic developments,significant changes have been taking place in the material circumstances of Tibetan households in Gling rgya and the surrounding villages in Reb gong since the 1980s,and these transformations have shaped their performance of the pre-death ritual(gson chos).Not only has the predeath ritual itself become a social obligation,the expenditure of the ritual has increased to such an extent that it has become a huge financial burden for most families.As some families compete to increase ritual expenses,the ritual has become a public display of wealth and social prestige,which is analyzed with the concept of"Conspicuous Consumption".
