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ESP-4682

Published

2026-03-31

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Vol. 11 No. 3 (2026): Publishing

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Research Articles

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Copyright (c) 2026 Yuanyuan Chen, Tae-hwan Rhee

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How to Cite

Yuanyuan Chen, & Tae-hwan Rhee. (2026). Women’s Education and Household Consumption Allocation: Evidence from a Cognitive Decision-Orientation Framework. Environment and Social Psychology, 11(3), ESP-4682. https://doi.org/10.59429/esp.v11i3.4682

Women’s Education and Household Consumption Allocation: Evidence from a Cognitive Decision-Orientation Framework

Yuanyuan Chen

Department of Economics, Sejong University, Seoul,South Korea

Tae-hwan Rhee

Department of Economics, Sejong University, Seoul,South Korea


DOI: https://doi.org/10.59429/esp.v11i3.4682


Keywords: Women’s education; household consumption; decision orientation; cognitive capacity; consumption allocation; China Household Finance Survey

Abstract

Household consumption decisions are shaped not only by income constraints but also by cognitive orientation and decision framing. Drawing on educational psychology and behavioral decision theory, this study conceptualizes women’s education as a cognitive reweighting mechanism that reshapes how households evaluate trade-offs between short-term necessities and long-term developmental investments. Rather than treating education solely as a source of human capital and earnings, we emphasize its role in influencing intertemporal evaluation, information processing, and perceived investment returns within family decision contexts.Using nationally representative data from the 2019 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), we examine the association between married women’s educational attainment and household consumption allocation. Each additional year of schooling is associated with a 3.7% increase in total household consumption. More importantly, the association is substantially stronger for enjoyment-oriented and education-related expenditures than for subsistence consumption, indicating a systematic shift in spending priorities rather than a proportional expansion of overall consumption.Mediation analyses show that women’s income and formal household authority account for only a modest share of the overall association. This suggests that income gains and institutional roles function as supportive pathways rather than dominant mechanisms. The findings are consistent with a decision-orientation interpretation in which education strengthens future orientation and investment sensitivity in family economic behavior.By reframing women’s education as a cognitive determinant of consumption structure rather than merely a driver of income, this study contributes to the integration of household economics and educational psychology, highlighting the behavioral foundations of consumption upgrading in developing institutional contexts.

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