Xinzhe Xu’s research while affiliated with Sichuan International Studies University and other places

Rational asset allocation is central to household wealth accumulation. This paper employs data derived from the 2019 China Household Finance Survey to methodically examine the influence of property tax expectations on the asset allocation decisions of households. This study finds that the expectation of property tax positively influences both the probability of holding risky financial assets and their proportion of household assets. The percentage of housing assets constitutes a substantial negative moderating factor affecting the relationship between property tax expectation and household investments in risky financial assets. The positive effect of property tax expectations is more significant in eastern China. A definite expectation of property tax causes a precautionary saving effect among households. This study highlights that forming reasonable expectations about property taxes can help households adjust their investment portfolios in advance, diversify their asset allocation, and mitigate the impact of changes in property tax policies.

Rational household asset allocation is crucial for the accumulation of household wealth. However, there is still a widespread phenomenon of limited participation among households. This paper aims to explore the impact of the investment expectation gap on households’ risky financial asset investment. Utilizing data from the China Household Finance Survey 2019, this paper systematically investigates the role of the investment expectation gap in risky financial asset investment through the Probit and Tobit models. The study reveals that the investment expectation gap has a significant negative impact on the investment probability (Average Marginal Effect, –0.118, p < 0.01) and holding proportion (β, –0.082, p < 0.01) of household investment in risky financial assets. This conclusion remains robust after conducting robustness tests by replacing the explanatory variable and performing subsample tests and endogenous treatment. The analysis of transmission mechanisms revealed that an expanding of the investment expectation gap would concurrently result in a decline in households’ assessment of stock’s profitability (Average Marginal Effect, –0.080, p < 0.01), the satisfaction with current asset allocation (β, –0.167, p < 0.05), and the subjective well-being of household members (β, –0.289, p < 0.01). Furthermore, the investment expectation gap not only hampers household investment in risky financial asset, but also diminish the household savings rate (β, –0.055, p < 0.01). This study demonstrates that helping households form reasonable expectations for risky financial assets investment returns will contribute to diversifying household asset allocation and enhancing satisfaction with investment decisions. AcknowledgmentThis study is funded by the Chongqing Social Science Planning Fund, grant number (2021BS052).