Determinants of Household Consumption Expenditures for Services:An Empirical Study Based on Urban Household Survey Data

Accelerating the development of modern service industry has become a significant link for China to promote economic growth and economic strategic restructuring.This paper uses the 2009 and 2002 Urban Household Survey data of six provinces and municipalities to investigate the factors influencing household consumptions for services and the sub-items.We find that household income,family life cycle,gender of household members and other family structure variables and urban population size all have a significant impact on total household service expenditure and sub-items.But our potential consumer demand for the service has not transformed into real demand.This paper suggests that we should promote industrial restructuring and upgrading to improve the environment for service expenditure and finally enhance residents' consuming will.Additionally,the formation of some city with modest population could help to boost household service consumption and consumer service industry.Finally,we should pay more attention to women's employment and education environment as well as ameliorate women's employment opportunities and years of education,which could be more conducive for boosting household service consumption