Digital Economy and Inclusive Growth of Household Income

Utilizing the quasi-natural experiment of National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone, this paper explores the impact of the digital economy on household income inclusive growth and its internal mechanisms through the Difference-in-Differences (DID) model. The findings reveal that the digital economy achieves income inclusive growth by both increasing the income levels and narrowing the income disparities. Mechanism analysis shows that the employment promotion effects, entrepreneurial incentive effects, and wealth accumulation effects are significant channels through which the digital economy operates. Heterogeneity analysis manifests that the digital economy exerts more pronounced income-enhancing influence on residents in less-developed regions and small cities, individuals without compulsory education completion, relatively impoverished residents, and residents facing high financing constraints. The extended analysis reveals that the National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone generates positive spillover effects on neighboring residents' incomes, further expounding the diffusion and stimulation effects of the digital economy across regions. The research provides an insightful research perspective to support the equitable sharing of digital dividends and the realization of common prosperity.