2023, 38(6): 4-20.
Abstract:
The digital economy is a key force driving the stable growth of the national economy and the continuous upgrading of consumption structure. This paper introduces the factors of digital economy and financial assets into the utility function of Kongsanmut featured with non-homothetic preference, and discusses the impact mechanism of digital economy development on household consumption upgrading. Then, using four rounds of tracking data from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) from 2013 to 2019, this study empirically tests the impact and mechanism of digital economy development on household consumption upgrading. It is found that the development of the digital economy has significantly driven the upgrading of household consumption, especially for households with higher consumption levels. For every 1% increase in the development level of the digital economy, the proportion of household service-oriented consumption will increase year-on-year. This conclusion is still valid after a series of robustness tests. Mechanism testing shows that the digital economy drives consumption upgrading by influencing household asset allocation, especially promoting risk-free financial asset holdings. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the driving effect of the digital economy is stronger in urban households, households with self-owned housing, households with married householder, householder with CPC membership, householder aged 37 and above, households on the southeast side of the "Hu Huanyong Line", and households in the east of China. Therefore, it is necessary to increase investment in network infrastructure, implement a dynamic and differentiated digital economy strategy according to local conditions, accelerate the improvement of the social security system, improve the operating mechanism of the capital market, and promote the deep integration of the digital economy and the real economy.