Housing Finance Methods and Entrepreneurship from the Perspective of Relationship Lending: Empirical Studies Based on the 2017 China Household Finance Survey
LIAO Hongjun, FAN Gangzhi, YI Daichun
Research Institute of Economics and Management, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics; School of Management, Guangzhou University; Survey and Research Center for China Household Finance, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics
Summary:
Entrepreneurship usually needs to meet certain start-up capital requirements, but due to the imperfect credit market, most entrepreneurs are faced with the problem of credit constraints. As a result, family-owned funds are often the main source of capitals for entrepreneurs. However, families usually also need to spend a great deal of money in purchasing houses, and borrowing to buy houses has become the norm for Chinese families. Chinese households can usually obtain housing mortgages through formal financial institutions, such as commercial loans, housing provident fund loans, and their portfolio loans. They can also borrow from informal credit channels such as private financial institutions and friends or relatives, namely private lending. In addition to their different sources, these two types of home financing channels have significant differences in terms of loan amount and duration. Thus, they might have different effects on the wealth levels of families, and even family entrepreneurial behavior. Using 2017 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) data, we employ the Probit model to empirically examine the effects of house financing methods on family entrepreneurial behavior and their influencing mechanism based on relationship lending theory and liquidity constraint theory. Our findings indicate that obtaining mortgage loans is more conducive to family entrepreneurship than purchasing houses through informal financing channels. The amounts borrowed through mortgage loans are higher and the loan terms are longer, so there households are more able to mitigate their liquidity constraint, which makes it easier for them to start businesses. Longer-term and better credit relationships between households and banks during the mortgage repayment periods can also effectively increase the likelihood of family access to formal credit, thus promoting family entrepreneurship. Our results also suggest that the development of the housing market and housing credit market is important in the process of implementing entrepreneurship and innovation strategies, and thus should not be ignored. The current housing finance system should be developed further and closely linked with the entrepreneurial credit market, thus alleviating the problems and expense of financing for small and micro businesses. Our study is both theoretically and practically significant, because it contributes to research in the fields of household lending behavior and entrepreneurial behavior and provides a new perspective on the methods that can be used to encourage entrepreneurial activities . There are three innovations in our study. First, the relationship between housing and entrepreneurship is examined from the perspective of house financing methods, based on the theories of relationship lending and liquidity constraints. At present, most scholars mainly focus on the impacts of housing prices, housing assets, housing ownership, housing property rights on entrepreneurial behavior, while our findings extend the research into the relationship between house financial channels and entrepreneurship. Second, the lack of high-quality household level survey data in China has prevented extensive research into household financing decision-making. We use the recent household survey data from the CHFS, which is collected through scientific sampling and survey methods, and which includes detailed information on household loans and entrepreneurial activities. Thus, we have good data support for this study. Third, the numerous studies on home purchase financing decisions in Western countries mainly focus on fixed-rate mortgages, adjustable-rate mortgages, and housing refinancing. However, China's housing finance system is very different from those of Western countries, and the ability of families to finance housing is closely related to their levels of wealth. Thus, examining the impacts of home purchase financing methods on family entrepreneurship in China both reflects the characteristics of its housing credit market and provides valuable insights into the effects the development of Chinese housing finance system has on its private economy.
廖红君, 樊纲治, 弋代春. 关系型借贷视角下购房融资方式与家庭创业行为——基于2017年中国家庭金融调查的实证研究[J]. 金融研究, 2020, 481(7): 153-171.
LIAO Hongjun, FAN Gangzhi, YI Daichun. Housing Finance Methods and Entrepreneurship from the Perspective of Relationship Lending: Empirical Studies Based on the 2017 China Household Finance Survey. Journal of Financial Research, 2020, 481(7): 153-171.
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