A Comparative Analysis Of Consumption On Urban Households Of Eastern, Central And Western Regions

The unbalanced economic development of different regions in China has become the main problem that courses a series of economic and social problems since the end of 20st century. How to solve the problem has become the focus that the government and the scholars concern. It has important meaning for making consumption policy of different regions and reducing the gaps between the regions that researching the consumption differences among the urban households of eastern, central and western regions. This thesis mainly elaborates the consumption differences from the consumption level and consumption structure to summarize the reasons for the differences in consumer behavior and to provide theoretical basis for making reasonable consumption and income policies in different regions.Firstly, the paper aims to have the comparative analysis on the present conditions of the urban households'consumption level and consumption structure in the three regions. It mainly analyzes the differences on income, APC, life quality, and consumption expenditure, etc. Secondly, the paper does the quantitive analysis on the consumption level in the three regions with ECM model and its conclusion explains the relationship between the consumption level and income in short-terms and long-terms. Thirdly, the article estimates the parameters with the urban households'data materials of the three regions in 2005. It analyzes the MPC, basic consumption demands, income elasticity and price elasticity, etc.According to the above analysis, the paper summarizes the following conclusions: 1. The APC of urban households in China is gradually declining and the furthest in the eastern region in the recent years. 2. The consumption confidence of the eastern urban households is strongest, and the central urban households is weaker, the western is weakest. 3. The expenditure on medical and education has a strong diverted effect in China, the expenses on these two parts in eastern urban households are more than the other regions. 4. The transportation and communications expenditure in our country get the rapid growth in the recent years and the eastern region gets the first.At last, a series of tactics are suggested according the differences among the three regions: 1.Decrease the income gaps among the three regions. 2. Accelerate the construction of social security system to improve the confidence of the urban residents.3. Develop the consumer credit market to stimulate consumption of urban residents in order to prevent APC declining. 4. Improve the transportation and communications consumption of central and western urban residents.