The Heterogeneous Impact of Internet Skills on Elderly Consumption in the Rural China: Based on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS)

Based on the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS), this article investigated the impact of internet skills on household consumption of middle-aged and elderly people under the perspective of population aging in rural China. The findings illustrated that there was a significant positive impact of internet skills on the the upgrading of consumption structure from the survival to the development and enjoyment consumption. After controlling for the endogeneity of internet skills, the positive impact of internet skills on survival consumption and development consumption remained stable, but the impact of internet skills on enjoyment consumption was not statistically significant at all. Besides, the results of heterogeneity analysis indicated that internet skills was more beneficial to the consumption of middle-aged families and the consumption of elderly people with relatively low educational level and income level. The relevant agents should seize the development opportunities of digital economy, accelerate the construction of internet infrastructure in the rural areas, try to solve the problem of “silver digital divide” , and improve elderly people’ s digital ability in order to enlarge household consumption and expand domestic demand.