Page 109 - IJPS-11-5

International Journal of

Population Studies

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Endowment insurance and family consumption

behavior in China: A comparison based on the
participation and payment stages

2
1
Lili Zheng * , Ya Su , Qianxi Shi , Yutong Shao , and Wenhua Hou 1
3
1
1 Department of Risk Management and Insurance, School of Insurance, Central University of Finance
and Economics, Beijing, China
2 Department of Post-Investment and Loan Management, Bank of Beijing, Beijing, China
3 Department of Human Resources, PICC Life Insurance, Beijing, China

Abstract
This paper examines the relationship between endowment insurance and household
consumption in China, a key issue in understanding the role of social security policies
in shaping household financial behavior. Using data from the China Family Panel
Studies spanning 2012 – 2018, we employed a two-way fixed effects model and
fuzzy breakpoint regression to analyze how participation in endowment insurance
influences both consumption levels and structures. We focus on heterogeneity in
*Corresponding author: consumption behavior across household registration types, geographic regions,
Lili Zheng
(llzheng@cufe.edu.cn) and demographic characteristics such as age and income. The findings reveal that
participating in endowment insurance generally enhances household consumption
Citation: Zheng, L., Su, Y.,
Shi, Q., Shao, Y. & Hou, W. (2025). across various family types, with particularly strong effects for rural households, those
Endowment insurance and family in central regions, and families with members aged 60 and above. In addition, while
consumption behavior in China: participation in endowment insurance is associated with consumption upgrading,
A comparison based on the
participation and payment stages. the receipt of pension benefits alone does not appear to influence consumption levels
International Journal of Population in the same way. A key result is the identification of a breakpoint in consumption
Studies, 11(5): 103-118. behavior at pension age, after which household consumption tends to decline,
https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.4857
especially in households with lower pension benefits. These results suggest that
Received: September 14, 2024 enhancing endowment insurance coverage and security could significantly boost
1st revised: December 11, 2024 household consumption and optimize spending patterns, particularly in rural and
economically disadvantaged regions. Moreover, the findings have important policy
2nd revised: January 9, 2025
implications for addressing income inequality and improving the economic welfare
Accepted: January 16, 2025 of vulnerable populations.
Published online: February 14,
2025
Keywords: Endowment insurance; Consumption level; Consumption structure;
Copyright: © 2025 Author(s). Heterogeneity; Fixed effects mode
This is an Open-Access article
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, 1. Introduction
provided the original work is
properly cited. The relationship between pension insurance and household financial behavior has long
Publisher’s Note: AccScience been a focal point in economic research, particularly as pension systems continue to
Publishing remains neutral with evolve across different countries. In China, distinct pension policies for urban and rural
regard to jurisdictional claims in
published maps and institutional residents have led to varied impacts on consumption, savings, investment patterns,
affiliations. and income distribution. Theoretical frameworks, such as the Life Cycle Hypothesis

Volume 11 Issue 5 (2025) 103 https://doi.org/10.36922/ijps.4857