Analysis of the Impact of Interest Rate Changes on Chinese Consumer Behavior

In 2015, the Central Bank cut interest rates six times in a row. There are two main purposes. The first is to reduce the interest burden on corporate loans, and stimulate corporate investment. The second is to reduce interest income on residential deposits, and stimulate residents to increase current consumption. However, many empirical data prove that although the effect of interest rate decline on stimulating corporate investment is more obvious, the effect of stimulating residents to increase current consumption is not obvious, and household savings continue to grow rapidly instead. This shows that the main factor affecting the current consumption of residents is no longer the bank’s deposit interest rate, but the irreplaceability of future consumer goods for current consumer goods, income restrictions and other economic factors that can affect cross-time consumption. Based on the theory of intertemporal utility maximization, this paper analyzes the impact of the rate change on China's residents' consumption, looks for the reasons why residents' consumption is not sensitive to changes in the rate, and puts forward corresponding countermeasures and suggestions.