The Impact of the Digital Economy on Household Development Resilience

Abstract

The rapid development of the digital economy is profoundly reshaping various sectors of the economy and society. This study employed a two-way fixed effects model to empirically examine the impact of the digital economy on household development resilience and its mechanisms of action. The findings show that the digital economy significantly enhanced the level of household development resilience, and this conclusion remains valid after a series of robustness tests. Mechanism analysis reveals that raising household income expectations and promoting upward mobility are the main pathways through which the digital economy enhances household development resilience. Moreover, the digital economy mainly affects household development resilience from two aspects: work and life. Specifically, it enhances household development resilience by reshaping household labor employment patterns, improving job-skill matching, optimizing the allocation of household labor resources, and increasing developmental and social network expenditures, thereby improving household spending structures. Furthermore, exploratory analysis reveals that the digital economy also significantly contributes to enhancing regional resilience.