数字经济、收入不平等与共同富裕——多维“数字鸿沟”视角的微观证据

Economy,Income Inequality,and Common Prosperity—Micro-evidence on the Digital Divide from Multiple Perspectives

从微观视角探究数字经济发展对收入不平等的影响,在推进共同富裕过程中具有重要意义。家庭数字经济水平的提升,能够通过就业创造效应、机会分享效应与公共服务效应降低家庭收入不平等水平,而多维“数字鸿沟”限制了数字经济对家庭收入不平等的降低作用。从多维“数字鸿沟”的视角出发,基于中国家庭金融调查数据整理了包含10518个家庭样本的三年平衡面板数据,并构建家庭层面收入不平等、数字经济水平以及多维“数字鸿沟”相关指标。分析结果显示:家庭数字经济水平的提升对收入不平等的减少具有积极影响,多维“数字鸿沟”的存在使得家庭收入不平等有所扩大。在“接入鸿沟”和“使用鸿沟”逐渐缩小后,“能力鸿沟”的缩小有助于家庭进一步利用数字经济缩小收入不平等。数字经济通过增加有效劳动、扩大劳动力流动和降低收入不确定性减小家庭收入不平等。研究结论有助于更为深入地理解微观层面数字经济与家庭收入不平等的关系,为数字经济高质量发展的政策设计提供依据。

The digital economy,as an important driving force for high-quality economic growth in China,has reshaped the way of production and life.This paper analyzes the impact of the digital economy on income inequality and explores the beneficial characteristics of the digital economy for the poor.In addition,it provides a comprehensive classification of the digital divide from the perspectives of access,use,and ability.Furthermore,it analyzes the differentiated impact of different digital divides on income inequality.Overall,this paper explores the impact of the digital economy on household income disparity from a micro perspective,providing solid theoretical support for the realization of common wealth.This paper theoretically examines the effects and mechanisms of the digital economy on income inequality.Based on the data from the China Household Finance Survey(CHFS)from 2015 to 2019,it constructs a three-year balanced panel data containing 10,518 household samples for empirical analysis.Firstly,household income inequality is measured by the degree of income deprivation.Secondly,a household digital economy indicator system is constructed in dimensions of digital technology,factors,and efficiency to identify the multidimensional digital divide.Thirdly,the impact of the digital economy on income inequality is estimated through a fixed-effects model.Fourthly,the heterogeneity of different types of digital divides on income inequality is analyzed.Finally,the specific transmission mechanism of the impact of the digital economy on income inequality is explored through a mechanism analysis.The results of the empirical analysis lead to the following conclusions.Firstly,there is a significantly negative correlation between the household digital economy and household income inequality,indicating that the development of the digital economy reduces household income inequality.Secondly,the multidimensional digital divide leads to heterogeneity in the impact of the household digital economy on inequality.In particular,the capability divide,which has a continuous rather than a phased impact,should be given due attention at all stages of development.Thirdly,an increase in household digital economy can reduce income inequality by increasing household employment,promoting labor mobility,and reducing income uncertainty.The contributions of this paper are evident in the following areas.Firstly,it employs household-level indicators to directly estimate the impact of the digital economy and the digital divide,expanding the concept of the digital divide from a single dimension to multiple dimensions.Secondly,the heterogeneous impact of the digital economy on income inequality in the evolution of the multi-dimensional digital divide is identified,and the role of different divides in the digital economy in improving income disparity is distinguished.Thirdly,it examines the employment,mobility,and security channels through which the digital economy reduces income inequality,and proposes policy measures to promote the high-quality development of the household digital economy.