数字金融与老年人健康:基于优质医疗服务可及机制视角

Digital Finance and the Health of the Elderly: a Perspective Based on the Accessibility Mechanism of High-Quality Medical Services

文章旨在基于优质医疗服务可及机制视角,利用CHARLS数据和我国城市级别数据,探讨数字金融对老年人健康的影响程度及作用机制。研究发现,数字金融发展有利于老年人健康水平的改善,且这一效果在不同老年群体间和数字金融的不同发展维度上存在差异。上述积极影响主要通过数字金融提高优质医疗服务的可及性实现,且在一定家庭收入水平的保障下,相比于私人借贷等其他“低门槛”金融模式,数字金融更易帮助老年人获取优质医疗服务,进而改善健康状况。因此,数字金融的进一步普及与适老化改造有助于应对我国老龄化社会带来的健康挑战。

The article aims to explore the extent and mechanism of the impact of digital finance on the health of the elderly based on the accessibility mechanism of quality healthcare services,using CHARLS data and city-level data in China.It is found that the development of digital finance is conducive to the improvement of the health of the elderly,and this effect varies between different groups of the elderly and across different development dimensions of digital finance.These positive effects are mainly achieved through the increased accessibility of quality healthcare services by digital finance.And under a certain level of household income,digital finance is more likely to help older people access quality healthcare services and thus improve their health than other“low-threshold”financial models such as private lending.Therefore,the further diffusion of digital finance and ageing-friendly transformation can help address the health challenges brought about by China’s ageing society.