Journal of Global Humanities and Social Sciences 2737-5374 2737-5382 BONI FUTURE DIGITAL PUBLISHING CO.,LIMITED https://ojs.bonfuturepress.com/index.php/GHSS/article/view/1888 6 6 2025 2025-10-15 FinTech's Role in Shaping Household Debt Structure: Evidence from the Housing Market in China Yu Feng,Xin Ge,Jiawei You The issue of high household housing debt is a pressing concern requiring immediate attention. Drawing on insights from behavioral economics, particularly the concept of scarcity mentality, this study investigates the potential role of digital finance in amplifying household housing debt through the manipulation of funds across mental accounts, influenced by the tube effect. Empirical analysis utilizing the Beijing University Digital Inclusive Finance Index for prefecture-level cities and data from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) confirms a significant association between digital finance expansion and increased likelihood of households acquiring housing debt, larger debt amounts, and elevated risk of excessive debt burden. Notably, these effects vary significantly across urban-rural divides, city classifications, and income brackets. Additionally, a spatial diffusion effect of digital finance on housing debt levels is observed, with cities with advanced digital finance infrastructure impacting surrounding areas. Importantly, household financial literacy emerges as a key mitigating factor against excessive housing debt induced by digital finance growth. The study’s implications suggest the need for enhanced regulatory measures in digital finance, establishment of a comprehensive housing consumption financial framework, regional coordination in housing debt management, and promotion of household financial education. digital finance,housing debt,over debt,China 10.61360/BoniGHSS252018880603

Anselin, L. (1988). Lagrange multiplier test diagnostics for spatial dependence and spatial heterogeneity. Geographical Analysis, 20(1), 1-17. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1538-4632.1988.tb00159.x Attanasio, O. (1994). Personal saving in the United States. International Comparisons of Household Saving, University of Chicago Press. Bartik, T. J. (2009). What proportion of children stay in the same location as adults, and how does this vary across location and groups? Upjohn Institute Working Paper 09-145. Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. https://doi.org/10.17848/wp09-145. Białowolski, P. (2019). Economic sentiment as a driver for household financial behavior. Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics, 80, 59-66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socec.2019.03.006 Biehl, A. M. (2018). The first-time homebuyer tax incentives: Did they work? Journal of Housing research, 27(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/10835547.2018.12092138 Carroll, C. D. (2001). A theory of the consumption function, with and without liquidity constraints. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15(3), 23-45. https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.15.3.23 Chen, J., Hardin III, W., & Hu, M. (2018). Housing, wealth, income and consumption: China and homeownership heterogeneity. Real Estate Economics, 48(2), 373-405. https://doi.org/10.1111/1540-6229.12245 Chen, S., & Li, W. (2019). Local government debt and regional economic growth in China. China Political Economy, 2(2), 330-353. https://doi.org/10.1108/CPE-10-2019-0028 Chen, X., & Wu, C. (2023). Subnational social trust and the internationalization of emerging market firms. Journal of Business Research, 158. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.113661 Chen, Z., Gong, Y., Meng, Q., Hu, X., & Ding, Y. (2024). Can digital finance boost regional innovation? From the perspective of resource mismatch in China. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 1-14. https://doi.org/10.1080/09537325.2024.2426046 Deaton, A. (1992). Household saving in LDCs: Credit markets, insurance and welfare. The Scandinavian Journal Economics, 94(2), 253-273. https://doi.org/10.2307/3440451 Deng, J., & Liu, Y. (2022). Does digital finance reduce the employment in the finance industry? Evidence from China. Finance Research Letters, 48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2022.102994. Dev, S. M. (2006). Financial Inclusion: Issues and challenges. Economic and Political Weekly, 41(41), 4310-4313. http://www.jstor.org/stable/4418799 Guo, F., Wang, J., Wang, F., Kong, T., Zhang, X., & Cheng, Z. (2020). Measuring China's digital financial inclusion: Index compilation and spatial characteristics. China Economic Quarterly, 19(4), 1401-1418. https://doi.org/10.13821/j.cnki.ceq.2020.03.12 Guo, Z., Wang, Y., & Bai, M. (2024). A study of the impact of digital inclusive finance on the real economy: Evidence from China. International Journal of Business & Economics, 9(1), 26-47. https://doi.org/10.58885/ijbe.v09i1.26.zg Hall, R. E. (1988). The relation between price and marginal cost in U.S. industry. Journal of Political Economy, 96(5). https://doi.org/10.1086/261570 Hao, J., Peng, M., & He, W. (2023). Digital finance development and bank liquidity creation. International Review of Financial Analysis, 90. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.irfa.2023.102839 Jiao, S., & Sun, Q. (2021). Digital economic development and its impact on economic growth in China: Research based on the perspective of sustainability. Sustainability, 13(18), 10245. https://doi.org/10.3390/su131810245 Landvoigt, T. (2017). Housing demand during the boom: The role of expectations and credit constraints. The Review of Financial Studies, 30(6), 1865-1902. https://doi.org/10.1093/rfs/hhx026 Leyshon, A., & Thrift, N. (2007). The capitalization of almost everything: The future of finance and capitalism. Theory, culture & society. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276407084699 Liu, Z., Zhong, X., Zhang, T., & Li, W. (2020). Household debt and happiness: Evidence from the China household finance survey. Applied Economics Letters, 27(3), 199-205. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2019.1610706 Lu, X., Lai, Y., & Zhang, Y. (2022). Digital financial inclusion and investment diversification: Evidence from China. Accounting & Finance, 63(S2), 2781-2799. https://doi.org/10.1111/acfi.13043 Pan, Z., Liu, Y., & Liu, Y. (2024). Uncovering the pathways between house prices and depressive symptoms in Chinese cities: A nationally representative study. Housing Studies, 39(4), 901-924. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2022.2092599 Sarma, M. (2012). Index of financial inclusion-A measure of financial sector inclusiveness. Berlin working paper on money, finance, trade and development, centre for international trade and development, School of International Studies. India: Jawaharlal Nehru University, No.7, 1-34. Wang, H., Sun, K. K., & Xu, S. (2023). Does housing boom boost corporate financialization? Evidence from China. Emerging Market Finance and Trade, 59(6), 1655-1667. https://doi.org/10.1080/1540496X.2022.2138702 Wang, X., & Wang, X. (2022). Digital financial inclusion and household risk sharing: Evidence from China’s digital finance revolution. China Economic Quarterly International, 2(4), 334-348. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ceqi.2022.11.006 Wu, L., & Zhang, Y. (2024). Social credit system construction and corporate debt dilemmas. Finance Research Letters, 60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2023.104855 Wu, L., Bian, Y., & Zhang, W. (2019). Housing ownership and housing wealth: new evidence in transitional China. Housing Studies, 34(3), 448-468. https://doi.org/10.1080/02673037.2018.1458291 Yan, G., Cifuentes-Faura, J., & Liu, X. (2024). How digital inclusive finance affects the health of the migrant population-evidence from China migrants dynamic survey. Applied Economics, 57(40), 6305-6317. https://doi.org/10.1080/00036846.2024.2383331 Yang, Y., Lin, Z., Xu, Z., & Liu, S. (2024). The impact of digital finance on regional economic resilience. Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 85. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pacfin.2024.102353 Zakaria, R., Jaafar, N., & Ishak, N. (2017). Household debt decision: poverty or psychology? International Journal of Business and Society, 18(3), 515-532. https://doi.org/10.33736/ijbs.3143.2017 Zhang, C. (2015). Income inequality and access to housing: Evidence from China. China Economic Review, 36, 261-271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2015.10.003 Zhang, C., & Zhang, F. (2019). Effects of housing wealth on subjective well-being in urban China. Journal of Housing and the Built Environment, 34, 965-985. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10901-019-09651-5 Zhang, Y. & Jia, D. (2025). The impact of inclusive finance and education investment on new quality productivity: The nonlinear mediating effect of education development. Finance Research Letters, 77. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.frl.2025.107065 Zhao K., Hao, Y., & Wu, W. (2022). Asymmetric effect on monetary policy on housing price from short-term and long-term perspectives. Journal of Advanced Computational Intelligence and Intelligent Informatics, 26(4), 581-589. https://doi.org/10.20965/jaciii.2022.p0581 Zheng, H., Qian, J., Liu, G., Wu, Y., Delang, C. O., & He, H. (2023). Housing prices and household consumption: A threshold effect model analysis in central and western China. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 10. https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02258-w Zou, Y. (2014). Contradictions in China’s affordable housing policy: Goals vs. structure. Habitat International, 41, 8-16. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2013.06.001