Paper Title
The Impact of Family Age and Number of Children on Household Consumption: Evidence from China

Abstract
With the implementation of China's three-child policy, significant changes have occurred in family structures, making household consumption behavior more complex and diverse. However, existing literature primarily focuses on overall household consumption, with limited examination of the specific effects of children's age and number on various types of consumption and their intergenerational effects. This study, based on data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), employs OLS and Tobit models to systematically analyze the impact of children's age and number on total household consumption, specific expenditures, and consumption upgrading. Importantly, this study also considers the effects of family income, parents’ education levels, and grandparents' deaths. The results indicate that: (1) children's age and number have a significant impact on total household consumption, with overall consumption levels increasing as the age and number of children grow; (2) in terms of specific expenditures, as children's age and number increase, household spending on education and food rises significantly, while spending on entertainment decreases; (3) family income and parents' education level moderate the effects of children's age and number on household consumption, with higher-income and better-educated families more likely to invest heavily in their children's education; and (4) the death of grandparents negatively affects consumption in families with multiple children, particularly as children's age increases, with a negative correlation between the grandmother's death and total household consumption, while the grandfather's death shows a positive correlation. Keywords - Household Consumption Impact, Expenditure Shifts, Income and Education Moderator, Intergenerational Effects