消费升级视角下互联网使用对农村生活垃圾减量的影响

The Impact of Internet Use on Rural Domestic Waste Reduction from the Perspective of Consumption Upgrade

基于湖北省967份农户调查数据,采用内生转换模型,聚焦抑制废弃物产生源头措施,着眼农村地区和微观层面,在“反事实”分析框架下实证检验互联网使用对农村居民生活垃圾减量的影响,并进一步从消费升级视角探究其中的作用机制。研究结果表明:(1)互联网使用显著促进了农村居民生活垃圾减量,反事实结果表明,使用互联网的农户假如未使用互联网,其生活垃圾产生量将显著增加。(2)消费升级是互联网使用作用于生活垃圾减量的主要传导机制。其中,互联网购物带来的消费数量提升会增加生活垃圾产生量,但是消费结构优化又进一步抑制生活垃圾产生量。进一步的异质性分析表明,互联网对男性、老龄人群、受教育程度较低和收入水平较高的农户影响效果更为显著。提出为切实改善农村人居环境,各级政府应积极采取夯实互联网基础设施、倡导理性消费、加快生产和生活方式全面绿色转型等措施,促进农村生活垃圾减量,提高农村生活垃圾治理效率。

Based on the data from 967 rural household surveys in Hubei Province,this study fo-cuses on measures to curb waste generation at the source in rural areas using an endogenous transforma-tion model and empirically examines the impact of Internet use on rural residents’domestic waste reduc-tion within the framework of the counterfactual analysis,and further explores its underlying mechanism from the viewpoint of consumption upgrading.The results show that:1)Internet use significantly pro-motes the reduction of household waste among rural residents.The counterfactual results show that if the farmers who use the internet did not do so,their domestic waste generation would significantly in-crease.2)Consumption upgrade is the main transmission mechanism through which the internet exerts ef-fect on reducing domestic waste.While the increase in consumption quantity due to online shopping will increase the amount of domestic waste generated,the optimization of consumption structure suppresses the amount of domestic waste generated.3)Heterogeneity analysis shows that the effect of the internet is more pronounced among elderly male farmers with lower education levels,and higher income levels.To effectively improve the governance of the rural living environment,governments at all levels can take measures such as strengthening internet infrastructure,advocating for rational consumption,accelerating comprehensive green transformation of production and lifestyle to promote the reduction of rural domes-tic waste and improve the efficiency of rural domestic waste management.