Export expansion and homeownership in China: Evidence from the China Household Finance Survey.

Despite the fairly recent start of housing reform since the late 1990s, China has transformed rapidly from a country dominated by public rents to a country with one of the highest homeownership rates. As China has experienced tremendous international trade growth during this period, this paper investigates whether and how export expansion may affect homeownership at the county level, combining China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) with an instrument of regional export. It is found that export expansion has a negative impact on homeownership and a positive effect on housing space per resident. In addition, these impacts are more significant among households with lower income, younger ages, employed status, and local hukou. Empirical evidence also implies that income inequality, the influx of migrants, and housing affordability are the main channels through which export expansion may affect homeownership. • China's export expansion is examined as a heterogeneous shock to households, including their income growth, migration decisions, employment, and investment behaviors. • County export values and other county-level variables in the 2011 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) are combined for the study. • Export expansion has a negative impact on homeownership, but has a positive effect on housing space per resident of owner-occupied housings. • Heterogeneous analyses show that theses effects are more pronounced among households with higher incomes, younger heads, employed heads, and local hukou. • Income inequality, the influx of migrants, and housing affordability are the main channels through which export expansion may affect homeownership. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]