Dr. Xu Yonghao, a researcher at the base, co-authored the paper Leisure Consumption and Household Asset Allocation: An Analysis based on Emotion Theory, which was published in the important academic journal Financial Research. Financial Research is an official publication issued publicly in China and abroad by the People's Bank of China and sponsored by the Chinese Society of Finance. It mainly reflects the dynamics and development of the financial market, publicizes China's financial policies, and introduces the latest financial theoretical research results.

Abstract: Marketing theory believes that leisure consumption will increase personal pleasure, while the emotional consistency and emotional retention theory in psychology points out that pleasant emotions will affect personal risk appetite and investment decisions. This paper examines how leisure consumption affects asset allocation based on a scenario where individual investor consumption is integrated with financial scenarios, and verifies the applicability of emotion theory in such scenarios. This paper proposes that after appropriate leisure consumption, individual investors' happy mood will lead to their optimistic estimation of investment returns and increase investment. The empirical study is based on the data of credit card consumption and fund investment of a major Asian bank in 2016-2017. It is found that the leisure consumption of individual investors in the current week will increase the fund investment rate by more than 50% and the investment amount by more than 30% in the next week. The increase of leisure consumption amount (excessive leisure consumption) will suppress the promotion effect of leisure consumption behavior on fund investment. Further analysis shows that these increased fund investments are concentrated in low-risk assets, and there is heterogeneity among investors of different genders and different wealth levels. This paper reveals the correlation mechanism between residents' consumption behavior and investment decision, which has certain implications for promoting inclusive finance and promoting consumption and financial integration.

Teacher Profile

Xu Yonghao, Ph.D. in Finance from Peking University, joined the School of Finance at Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in 2021. His research areas include behavioral finance, asset pricing, and household finance. His research findings have been published in domestic and international journals such as 'Management World,' 'International Review of Economics and Finance,' and 'Economics Letters.' In 2022, he was awarded the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Young Scientist Grant