Does Internet Use Improve Labor Income for Older Workers? Evidence from China

• In Event: 50220 - Section on Organizations, Occupations, and Work Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 15: Workers' Skills and Earnings

Abstract

The transformation from industrial society to digital society has introduced new a form of inequality related to the ability of using digital technology, which is summarized as digital literacy. In addition to the access to digital device, individuals from different classes also benefit differently in the usage of digital technology. The continuous work of elderly would encounter with more digital exclusion in the background of active aging, but existing research has not discussed the unequal benefits from using digital technology of the elderly and the reasons. This article focuses on the impact of digital access on the labor income of the elderly in China, using the Heckman model and the 2SLS model based on the data in China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2014 to 2020. It is found that the use of Internet has a significant effect on income, which is more obvious for two groups: one with higher socioeconomic status and the other with disadvantages in the labor market of industrial society. The former tend to have a better digital awareness and the skills to learn, work and socialize on the Internet. The latter are provided with a fairer access to labor market as the production mode in digital society changed. The current use of digital technology reflects both “stratified digital welfare” and “digital capability effect”, and the digital literacy is an important translation mechanism.

Author

• Keyu Peng, City University of Hong Kong