PROGRESS IN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2023, Vol. 42 ›› Issue (5): 837-851.doi: 10.18306/dlkxjz.2023.05.002

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Digital economy driving household consumption:Mechanism and spatial effects

YANG Fang1,2(), ZHANG Hai3,*(), LIU Xiaorong4   

  1. 1. School of Business, Nanjing University of Information science and Technology, Nanjing 210000, China
    2. Yangtze River Institute of International Digital Trade Innovation and Development, Nanjing 210000, China
    3. School of Teacher Education, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210000, China
    4. Institute of Scientific & Technical Information of Gansu Province, Lanzhou 730000, China
  • Received:2022-10-25 Revised:2023-03-07 Online:2023-05-28 Published:2023-05-24
  • Contact: ZHANG Hai E-mail:yangfang314@163.com;gszhhai@163.com
  • Supported by:
    The Startup Foundation for Introducing Talent of NUIST(2023r073);The Startup Foundation for Introducing Talent of NUIST(2022r046);Gansu Soft Science Project(21CX6ZA018);Gansu Soft Science Project(22JR4ZA062)

Abstract:

The digital economy is a new driving force for China's economic development and an important growth point for expanding domestic demand. This study examined the mechanism of the digital economy affecting household consumption. Based on the panel data of 31 provinces of China from 2011 to 2020 and using the mediation effect model and the spatial Durbin model, this study examined the mechanism and spatial effects of the digital economy on household consumption and conducted an expanded analysis from the temporal and regional dimensions. The results show that: 1) The digital economy can directly promote household consumption. 2) The indirect effect of the digital economy on consumption is to improve the diversification of products on the supply side, increase household income on the demand side, and promote market integration on the market side. 3) While promoting local consumption, the digital economy also has positive spillover effects among provinces with similar economic levels. 4) The results of the expanded analysis show that the role of the digital economy in driving consumption is sustainable over time, which increases with the improvement of the economic level. Meanwhile, the effect is stronger in the central and western regions than in the eastern region, showing the characteristics of benefiting the poor and favoring the less developed regions. These results expanded the research perspectives of digital economy driving consumer consumption, and provide a decision reference for the strategy of boosting consumer demand based on the digital economy.

Key words: digital economy, consumption, supply and demand, market, spatial spillover