收入差距和居民消费投资行为差异的因果关系

本项目围绕收入差距和居民消费两个重大问题展开，专注于被现有文献忽视的收入差距和居民消费投资差异之间的动态因果关系。我们从理论和实证两个角度分析收入差距对居民消费投资的影响以及居民的消费投资对未来或下一代的收入差距的影响。并在此基础上研究收入差距的动态过程，特别是由内生的投资差异带来的演变过程。具体的，我们不仅将研究收入差距对宏观的储蓄率及消费投资结构的影响，还将分析微观上收入差距对居民消费投资行为的影响。同时将分析居民之间消费差距和投资差距的水平及趋势，并对其分解来了解变化的原因。另外我们将估计收入的分布和趋势，并区分永久性收入和短暂性收入差距。我们还将分析与收入分配相关的公共政策对居民消费投资的影响。实证研究中，我们将结合中国的政策变化，利用前沿的计量方法和自己收集的相关数据。由于相关文献的缺乏和方法的前沿性，我们的研究成果有望在国内外高质量的期刊上发表，同时对政策制定提供重要的参考。

We try to study two important issues: income inequality and the differences in households' consumption and investment. We focus on the dynamic causality between these two. Both theoretical and empirical analyses are considered for the following two problems: how the income inequality affects household consumption and investment; how household consumption and investment affect future or next generation's income inequality. The answers are used to study the dynamic process of income inequality, particularly the evolvement due to the difference in the endogenous investment. Specifically, we will study the effect of income inequality on the aggregate saving rate and the structure of consumption and investment. We will also study the micro mechanism for the effect of income inequality on household consumption and investment behavior. The inequality in household consumption, the inequality in investment, and the changes of these inequalities will be studied and the reasons for the changes will be decomposed. We will also estimate income distribution and its trend. For income inequality, permanent income and transitory income are distinguished. For the empirical study, we will exploit the policy changes in China, methodologies on the frontier, and the data we collect by ourselves. Since the related literatures are in their early stages and we exploit the latest methodology, our papers have potentials to be published in top journals. Also the results have strong policy implications.