数字经济发展对居民家庭消费的影响机理与效应研究

In the background of the rise of the anti-globalization trend in the post-epidemic era, China’s economic development is expected to rely more on the increase in the degree of dependence on the pull of domestic demand, so the study on how to promote the level of consumption of the residents and the expansion of domestic demand is also becoming more and more critical. The deep integration of digital economic development and traditional industries can release a sizable “digital dividend”, colossal energy, is the expansion of domestic demand, the realization of the “domestic cycle” of the critical potential driving force. Given this, based on the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) database, this paper constructs the digital economy development level index at the provincial level in China. It empirically examines the theoretical analysis and empirical test on the effect of digital economy development on residents’ household consumption. The study finds that: (i) Digital economy development can promote residents’ household and per capita consumption. This conclusion still holds after a series of robustness tests. (ii) The development of the digital economy can positively impact residents’ consumption level, mainly through improving the quality of residents’ income. However, optimizing the consumption environment is not the main reason for the digital economy to promote consumption. (iii) From the heterogeneity analysis, digital economy development has a more noticeable effect on the consumption enhancement of regions with low unemployment rates and households with low labor costs. (iv) This paper further discusses the impact of digital economic development on the consumption structure and finds that digital economic development makes it difficult to enhance residents’ subsistence consumption but significantly increases the developmental consumption expenditures of income groups at all levels and also substantially promotes the enjoyment expenditures of high-income households. The findings of this paper provide theoretical support and a decision-making basis for further utilizing digital economic development to release consumption potential.