THE IMPACT OF THE DIGITAL DIVIDE ON LABOR PARTICIPATION OF THE YOUNG ELDERLY: EVIDENCE FROM CHINA

Abstract

To alleviate the shortage of labor force and reduce the burden of pensions, it has become an important global trend to advocate labor participation of the young elderly (55-70 years old). However, the rapid development of Internet information technology not only brings digital dividends but also leads to the digital divide among the elderly. In the context of the dual era of digitalization and aging, it is of great significance to study the impact of the digital divide on the labor participation of the elderly. This paper analyzes the three levels of the digital divide (access gap, use gap, knowledge gap) and theoretically analyzes the impact of these three levels of the digital divide on the labor participation of the elderly. Since China is a typical representative country under the intertwined influence of the digital economy and population aging, this paper selects China as the research object. This paper uses the data set released by the China General Social Survey in 2017 (CGSS-2017) and adopts the probit model to empirically analyze the impact of the three-level digital divide on labor participation of the young elderly. The results show that the three levels digital divide has a significant impact on the labor participation of the young elderly, and individual characteristics and family characteristics also lead to significant heterogeneity of labor participation of the young elderly.

Keywords

access gap, digital divide, digital economy, digital literacy, knowledge gap, labor participation, the young elderly, use gap

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About the Authors 

Xiaoxia Zhang – Graduate Student, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia; Research Fellow, Ningde Normal University, Ningde, China. E-mail: 282596452@qq.com.
Olga P. Nedospasova – Dr. Sci. (Economics), Docent; Professor, Tomsk State University, Tomsk, Russia. E-mail: olgaecconomy@mail.ru. SPIN РИНЦ 1356-4741. ORCID 0000-0001-8272-4616. ResearcherID R-2126-2016. Scopus Author ID 56671420500

For citation

Zhang X., Nedospasova O.P. The Impact of the Digital Divide on Labor Participation of the Young Elderly: Evidence from China // BENEFICIUM. 2022. Vol. 2(43). Pp. 121-126. DOI: 10.34680/BENEFICIUM.2022.2(43).121-126