IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i21p9373-d1776887.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Marketization and Household Consumption Upgrading: Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Meiqi Zhao

    (School of International Trade and Economics, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing 100029, China)

  • Mengxia Zhang

    (School of International Trade and Economics, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing 100029, China)

Abstract

This paper examines how marketization influences the spatial effects of household consumption upgrading in China, by analyzing provincial panel data from China between 2010 and 2022. The study employs a two-way fixed-effects Spatial Durbin Model to capture both the direct effects of marketization within a region and the spillover effects transmitted to neighboring regions. This model incorporates spatial dependence in both dependent and independent variables, providing a comprehensive assessment of spatial interactions. The results reveal that marketization and consumption upgrading both have the spatial pattern characteristics of significant spatial difference and agglomeration features. Marketization considerably encourages the upgrading of local people’s consumption and has positive spillover effects on the consumption upgrading levels of nearby regions. Mechanism analysis shows that market competition and enterprise innovation play key roles in this process. Heterogeneity analysis shows in eastern regions, areas with high industrial upgrading levels, high financial agglomeration levels, and high house prices, and the promotion effect of marketization on household consumption upgrading is more pronounced. These findings suggest that promoting differentiated regional marketization reforms, amplifying the spillover effects of marketization, reinforcing the dual engine of competition and innovation, and strengthening industrial upgrading and financial agglomeration are key to promote Chinese household consumption upgrading.

Suggested Citation

  • Meiqi Zhao & Mengxia Zhang, 2025. "Marketization and Household Consumption Upgrading: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-32, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:21:p:9373-:d:1776887
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/21/9373/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/21/9373/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yongqiang Zhang & Guifang Ma & Yuan Tian & Quanyao Dong, 2023. "Nonlinear Effect of Digital Economy on Urban–Rural Consumption Gap: Evidence from a Dynamic Panel Threshold Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-22, April.
    2. Kleibergen, Frank & Paap, Richard, 2006. "Generalized reduced rank tests using the singular value decomposition," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 133(1), pages 97-126, July.
    3. Zhihua Ruan & Wenhua Liu & Sanggyun Na & Xianhua Tan & Tianqiao Xue, 2019. "Regional Marketization, OFDI, and Sustainable Employment: Empirical Analysis in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(15), pages 1-17, July.
    4. Yu, Mingzhe & Deng, Xin, 2021. "The Inheritance of Marketization Level and Regional Human Capital Accumulation: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 43(C).
    5. Zhou, Xiaoxiao & Cai, Ziming & Tan, Kim Hua & Zhang, Linling & Du, Juntao & Song, Malin, 2021. "Technological innovation and structural change for economic development in China as an emerging market," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    6. Chunshan Zhou & Ming Li & Guojun Zhang & Yuqu Wang & Song Liu, 2020. "Heterogeneity of Internal Migrant Household Consumption in Host Cities: A Comparison of Skilled Migrants and Labor Migrants in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-16, September.
    7. Semykina, Anastasia & Wooldridge, Jeffrey M., 2010. "Estimating panel data models in the presence of endogeneity and selection," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 157(2), pages 375-380, August.
    8. Christopher F Baum & Mark E. Schaffer & Steven Stillman, 2007. "Enhanced routines for instrumental variables/generalized method of moments estimation and testing," Stata Journal, StataCorp LLC, vol. 7(4), pages 465-506, December.
    9. Xu, Ning & Xu, Longchao & Yan, Xiang-Wu, 2025. "Data factor marketization empowering enterprise innovation quality: New evidence from Chinese patent citations," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    10. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Peter J. Klenow, 2009. "Misallocation and Manufacturing TFP in China and India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(4), pages 1403-1448.
    11. Tingying Chen & Haitian Lu & Rong Chen & Lina Wu, 2021. "The Impact of Marketization on Sustainable Economic Growth—Evidence from West China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-24, March.
    12. Hsu, Po-Hsuan & Tian, Xuan & Xu, Yan, 2014. "Financial development and innovation: Cross-country evidence," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(1), pages 116-135.
    13. Li, Chengming & Wang, Yilin & Zhou, Zhihan & Wang, Zeyu & Mardani, Abbas, 2023. "Digital finance and enterprise financing constraints: Structural characteristics and mechanism identification," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    14. Kristopher S. Gerardi & Harvey S. Rosen & Paul S. Willen, 2010. "The Impact of Deregulation and Financial Innovation on Consumers: The Case of the Mortgage Market," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(1), pages 333-360, February.
    15. Holm, Martin Blomhoff, 2018. "Consumption with liquidity constraints: An analytical characterization," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 40-42.
    16. Xingling Huang & Guoping Li & Jianguo Liu, 2020. "The Impact of Spatial Structure on Economic Efficiency of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Megalopolis in China," Complexity, Hindawi, vol. 2020, pages 1-18, July.
    17. Ye, Xiang & Yue, Pengpeng, 2024. "What matters to reshaping consumption patterns in China? Digital inclusion and supply chain," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    18. Chava, Sudheer & Oettl, Alexander & Subramanian, Ajay & Subramanian, Krishnamurthy V., 2013. "Banking deregulation and innovation," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(3), pages 759-774.
    19. Ziyi Wang & Debin Ma & Jingxiang Zhang & Yu Wang & Dongqi Sun, 2023. "Does urbanization have spatial spillover effect on poverty reduction: empirical evidence from rural China," Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(1), pages 2167730-216, December.
    20. Isaksson, Olov H.D. & Simeth, Markus & Seifert, Ralf W., 2016. "Knowledge spillovers in the supply chain: Evidence from the high tech sectors," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 699-706.
    21. Dong Guo & Lin Li & Lu Qiao & Fengyu Qi, 2023. "Digital economy and consumption upgrading: scale effect or structure effect?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(6), pages 4713-4744, December.
    22. Xiaobing Le & Xinxin Shao & Kuo Gao, 2023. "The Relationship between Urbanization and Consumption Upgrading of Rural Residents under the Sustainable Development: An Empirical Study Based on Mediation Effect and Threshold Effect," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-19, May.
    23. Joel Peress, 2010. "Product Market Competition, Insider Trading, and Stock Market Efficiency," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(1), pages 1-43, February.
    24. Saxena, Vibhor & Bindal, Ishaan & LeMay-Boucher, Philippe, 2020. "Social groups and credit shocks: Evidence of inequalities in consumption smoothing," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 311-326.
    25. Xuejun Chen & Li Li & Xiaopeng Ling, 2024. "Research on Driving Factors of Digital Innovation in the Tourism Industry," SAGE Open, , vol. 14(4), pages 21582440241, December.
    26. J. Paul Elhorst, 2014. "Dynamic Spatial Panels: Models, Methods and Inferences," SpringerBriefs in Regional Science, in: Spatial Econometrics, edition 127, chapter 0, pages 95-119, Springer.
    27. Boeing, Philipp & Eberle, Jonathan & Howell, Anthony, 2022. "The impact of China's R&D subsidies on R&D investment, technological upgrading and economic growth," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    28. Li, Renyu & Ma, Zhongxin & Chen, Xirong, 2020. "Historical market genes, marketization and economic growth in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 327-333.
    29. J. Paul Elhorst, 2003. "Specification and Estimation of Spatial Panel Data Models," International Regional Science Review, , vol. 26(3), pages 244-268, July.
    30. Luc Anselin, 2010. "Thirty years of spatial econometrics," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 89(1), pages 3-25, March.
    31. Fu, Chao & Luo, Dianying & Zhang, Jiaoshu & Li, Wenxia, 2025. "Tax incentives, marketization level, and corporate digital transformation," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    32. Fan, Gang & Ma, Guangrong & Wang, Xiaolu, 2019. "Institutional Reform and Economic Growth of China: 40-year Progress Toward Marketization," Acta Oeconomica, Akadémiai Kiadó, Hungary, vol. 69(supplemen), pages 7-20, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jin, Laiqun & Dai, Jiaying & Jiang, Weijie & Cao, Kairui, 2023. "Digital finance and misallocation of resources among firms: Evidence from China," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    2. Gao, Kang & Yuan, Yijun, 2022. "Does market-oriented reform make the industrial sector “Greener” in China? Fresh evidence from the perspective of capital-labor-energy market distortions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PA).
    3. Loredana Fattorini & Mahdi Ghodsi & Armando Rungi, 2020. "Cohesion Policy Meets Heterogeneous Firms," Journal of Common Market Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 58(4), pages 803-817, July.
    4. Licheng Zheng & Delong Luo & Ruiqing Jiang & Xiaoyong Lu, 2025. "The Strategy of Speculative Innovation: the Result of Capital Misallocation and Defective Incentive Policy," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(3), pages 12317-12363, September.
    5. Huiquan Li & Qingning Lin & Yan Wang & Shiping Mao, 2023. "Can Digital Finance Improve China’s Agricultural Green Total Factor Productivity?," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-19, July.
    6. Kamguia, Brice & Tadadjeu, Sosson & Miamo, Clovis & Njangang, Henri, 2022. "Does foreign aid impede economic complexity in developing countries?," International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 71-88.
    7. Huang, Hongyun & Wang, Fengrong & Song, Malin & Balezentis, Tomas & Streimikiene, Dalia, 2021. "Green innovations for sustainable development of China: Analysis based on the nested spatial panel models," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    8. Tang, Xudong & Jia, Yang & Li, Rui, 2024. "Common institutional ownership types and corporate innovation: A taxonomy based on whether the investees are in the same industry," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    9. Lin Lei & Han Zhou & Dingding Wang, 2024. "Marketization and corporate cash holdings: Role of financial constraint alleviation," International Review of Finance, International Review of Finance Ltd., vol. 24(4), pages 743-771, December.
    10. Xiaoyang Zhu, 2023. "Financial development and declining market dynamics: Another dark side of “too much finance”?," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 65(1), pages 275-309, July.
    11. Beckmannshagen, Mattis & Schröder, Carsten, 2022. "Earnings inequality and working hours mismatch," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    12. Dongjing Chen & Xiaotong Guo, 2023. "Impact of the Digital Economy and Financial Development on Residents’ Consumption Upgrading: Evidence from Mainland China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-25, May.
    13. MacDonald, Peter, 2013. "Labour substitution and the scope for military outsourcing," MPRA Paper 46688, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Fraser Summerfield & Livio Di Matteo, 2021. "Influenza Pandemics and Macroeconomic Fluctuations in Recent Economic History," Working Papers 210002, Canadian Centre for Health Economics.
    15. Vance, Colin & Frondel, Manuel, 2015. "From fuel taxation to efficiency standards: A wrong turn in European climate protection?," VfS Annual Conference 2015 (Muenster): Economic Development - Theory and Policy 113171, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    16. Juergen Bitzer & Erkan Goeren, 2018. "Foreign Aid and Subnational Development: A Grid Cell Analysis," Working Papers V-407-18, University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics, revised Mar 2018.
    17. Sisira Sarma & Rose Anne Devlin & Jason Gilliland & M. Karen Campbell & Gregory S. Zaric, 2015. "The Effect of Leisure‐Time Physical Activity on Obesity, Diabetes, High BP and Heart Disease Among Canadians: Evidence from 2000/2001 to 2005/2006," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(12), pages 1531-1547, December.
    18. Claessens, Stijn & Yafeh, Yishay & Ueda, Kenichi, 2010. "Financial Frictions, Investment, and Institutions," CEPR Discussion Papers 8170, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    19. Guosong Wang & Huizhen Zhang, 2025. "FinTech-Driven Corporate Sustainability: A Technology–Organization–Environment Framework Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-28, September.
    20. Burger, John D. & Warnock, Francis E. & Warnock, Veronica Cacdac, 2018. "Currency matters: Analyzing international bond portfolios," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 376-388.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:21:p:9373-:d:1776887. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.