户主亲社会偏好与家庭消费升级

刘慧宏　张儒森　胡善成

（宁波大学）

摘要：亲社会偏好是理解家庭消费行为和优化提振消费政策的重要视角。本文基于中国家庭追踪调查（CFPS）数据，从利他、公平、互惠以及公益四个维度对户主的亲社会偏好进行测度，进而研究户主亲社会偏好对家庭消费升级的影响效应及其作用机制。研究发现，户主亲社会偏好能够带动家庭消费的扩容与提质，即促进家庭消费升级。经过内生性分析和一系列稳健性检验后，这一结论依然成立。机制分析表明，户主亲社会偏好能够通过拓宽正式和非正式社会网络的广度和强度，进而促进家庭消费升级。此外，对于城镇地区家庭、高资产家庭以及青年家庭而言，户主亲社会偏好的促进作用更加明显。本文的研究不仅拓展了消费行为理论的研究视角，也为通过亲社会偏好促进家庭消费升级提供了政策启示。

关键词：提振消费；亲社会偏好；家庭消费；消费升级；社会网络

作者简介：刘慧宏，宁波大学商学院教授，宁波，315211；张儒森，宁波大学商学院硕士研究生；胡善成，宁波大学商学院讲师，通信作者。

基金项目：浙江省统计科学研究项目“浙江省数据资本核算与政策优化路径研究”（25TJQN07）

引用格式：刘慧宏,张儒森,胡善成.户主亲社会偏好与家庭消费升级[J].经济与管理研究,2026,47(1):19-34.

Prosocial Preferences of Household Heads and Household Consumption Upgrading

LIU Huihong, ZHANG Rusen, HU Shancheng

(Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211)

Abstract: Boosting consumption is central to expanding domestic demand and strengthening the domestic economic cycle. Therefore, identifying effective pathways to boost consumption and unlock its potential is particularly important.

Prosocial preferences provide a novel analytical perspective for understanding household consumption behavior and optimizing consumption policies. Unlike previous studies that focus primarily on self-interested motives, this paper shifts the analytical paradigm from the rational man to the social man. It fills gaps in the existing literature on multidimensional measures of prosocial preferences and their relationship with consumption upgrading, thereby extending research on consumption behavior and prosocial preferences. Moreover, it advances the cross-disciplinary exploration of prosocial preferences and consumption behavior from theoretical construction to empirical validation. Using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this paper constructs a household-head prosocial preference index across four dimensions—altruism, fairness, reciprocity, and public-mindedness—and empirically examines the impact of these preferences on household consumption upgrading and the underlying mechanisms.

The results show that the prosocial preferences of household heads can enhance the scale and quality of household consumption, thereby optimizing the consumption structure and ultimately facilitating consumption upgrading. These findings remain robust under various tests. Mechanism analysis further reveals that prosocial preferences promote household consumption upgrading by broadening and strengthening both formal and informal social networks. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that the positive impact of prosocial preferences on household consumption is more pronounced among urban households, high-asset households, and younger households.

Based on these findings, this paper offers several policy implications. First, the nonprofit ecosystem should be optimized to foster prosocial values. Local governments should streamline the registration and approval processes for nonprofit organizations and support small community-based nonprofit organizations by providing venues and financial subsidies, thereby cultivating residents’ prosocial preferences and creating community hubs that integrate public welfare with consumption. Second, efforts should be made to strengthen social security to unlock consumption potential. This entails implementing employment stabilization policies and enhancing the quality of public services to ensure stable household income and future expectations, thereby facilitating a shift in consumption patterns toward development- and enjoyment-oriented categories. Finally, targeted assistance should be strengthened to overcome consumption constraints. Special attention should be directed toward groups with weaker prosocial preferences by increasing their income through skills training and industrial empowerment. Furthermore, infrastructure in rural and remote areas should be improved to ensure inclusive access to the benefits of consumption upgrading.

Keywords: consumption boost; prosocial preference; household consumption; consumption upgrading; social network

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