Emerging Markets Finance and Trade

Powering Household Portfolio: Digital Finance, Demographics, and Decisions

Households are central to the finance system. Any household decision on consumption, borrowing, entrepreneurship, migrants, education, living habits are ultimately resulting in direct or indirect investments in financial markets. In this way, households become the “representative agent” of modern microfinance theory and practice.

In recent years, household finance has attracted widespread attention from policymakers and academics alike. Household financial decisions are inherently complex, interdependent, and heterogeneous, making them central to the functioning of the financial system. Over time, the study of household finance has evolved beyond a narrow academic niche into a dynamic, interdisciplinary field that integrates insights from economics, finance, sociology, psychology, behavioral science, and data science. The heterogeneity of household characteristics and decision-making processes poses new challenges for both theoretical modeling and empirical analysis. In addition, the new wave of technological innovation and the democratization of finance create unprecedented opportunities for household finance research.

This special issue, “Powering Household Portfolio: Digital Finance, Demographics, and Decisions,” aims to advance this field by focusing on three transformative forces reshaping household finance. Digital finance is redefining access, lowering entry barriers, and enabling real-time personalized financial services. Demographic change—including population aging, evolving family structures, and rising inequality—reshapes household risk profiles and long-term planning horizons. Decisions, reflecting the behavioral and psychological dimensions of financial choice, remain the crucial link between individual households and aggregate market dynamics. Together, these three forces are altering how households accumulate, manage, and transmit wealth. We particularly encourage contributions that harness high-quality micro-level datasets to reveal how household-level decisions shape financial markets and the broader macroeconomy.

We particularly encourage scholars to make use of high-quality micro-level survey datasets to explore the impact of household-level decisions on financial markets and the macroeconomy.

Topics including but not limited to the following areas are highly encouraged:

1. Digitalization and household finance
2. Demographics and household finance
3. Sophisticated decision-making and household finance
4. Green assets and household finance
5. Household financial fragility
6. New measurement of household behavior
7. Structural analysis on household behavior
8. Machine-learning and household behavior
9. Climate risk, environmental economics, and household decision-making
Conference

A themed international conference is scheduled to take place at the Capital University of Economics and Business in Beijing, China, in the second half of 2026. Selected papers from the conference will be invited for submission to a special issue of EMFT.

Keynote speakers

Weixing Wu, Capital University of Economics and Business
Stephan Siegel, Washington University
Paresh Kumar Narayan, Monash University

Conference scientific committee
Zhichao Yin, Capital University of Economics and Business (Chair)
Cheng Tang, Chu-O University
Feng Guo, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics
Ji Shen, Peking University
Junjian Yi, Peking University
Luigi Guiso, Einaudi Institute for Economics and Finance
Susan Sunila Sharma, Deakin University (Chair)
Peiyao Guo, Beijing Wuzi University
Pengpeng Yue, Beijing Technology and Business University
Rudai Yang, Peking University
Xiaomeng Lu, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics & CHFS
Xueliang Lv, Qingdao University
Xun Zhang, Beijing Normal University
Yu Wu, Nanjing Agricultural University

Conference organizing committee

Kaiguo Zhou, Capital University of Economics and Business (Chair)
Daping Zhao, Capital University of Economics and Business
Yang Yang, Capital University of Economics and Business
Xue Li, Capital University of Economics and Business
Lu Zhang, Capital University of Economics and Business
Linwan Zhang, Capital University of Economics and Business
Geran Tian, Capital University of Economics and Business
Yu Liao, Capital University of Economics and Business
Jialong Li, Capital University of Economics and Business