Research on the Impact of Digital Economy Participation on the Financial Asset Allocation of the Elderly
Abstract
Against the backdrop of a deepening aging population in China, the elderly face significant challenges in terms of old-age security. The development of the digital economy presents new opportunities for optimizing their financial asset allocation; however, technological barriers and insufficient financial literacy remain major obstacles. Based on data from the 2019 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), this paper systematically analyzes the impact of household digital economy participation on the financial asset allocation of the elderly. The empirical results indicate that the digital economy can significantly optimize the asset allocation structure of the elderly by enhancing financial literacy, increasing attention to financial information, and strengthening risk tolerance. This effect is more pronounced in urban households and businessowning households. Based on these findings, this paper proposes improving age-friendly digital infrastructure and financial education systems, as well as optimizing information services and product supply mechanisms, to effectively translate the benefits of the digital economy into tangible improvements in the well-being of the elderly.
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Introduction
With the increasing aging of China's population, the elderly population faces growing retirement risks. The issue of wealth management for the elderly has become increasingly prominent, and how to rationally allocate financial assets to ensure the quality of life in old age has become an urgent social problem. Simultaneously, the elderly population generally faces significant challenges in financial asset allocation: on the one hand, deepening societal aging increases pension pressures, with insufficient pensions and rising medical costs making their financial management needs more urgent; on the other hand, limitations such as single income sources, insufficient financial knowledge, and narrow investment channels make it difficult for them to make rational investment decisions. Although financial markets offer opportunities for wealth appreciation, most households, especially the elderly, remain under-participants. In recent years, the rapid rise of the digital economy has profoundly changed the forms and content of financial services. The proliferation of technologies like internet finance, mobile payment, big data, and artificial intelligence has broken the spatiotemporal constraints of traditional financial services, providing new financial service platforms for the elderly. These emerging technologies make financial asset allocation more convenient and diverse, particularly as internet finance offers the elderly more direct, low-cost investment channels and wealth management tools. However, many elderly still face technological barriers and knowledge gaps in applying digital technologies and allocating financial assets, placing them at a disadvantage within the digital economy and preventing them from fully leveraging these technological advantages to optimize household financial asset allocation. Against the backdrop of an increasingly aging population, how to use the digital economy to promote optimized financial asset allocation and enhance the welfare of the elderly has become a pressing practical issue. Therefore, this paper focuses on analyzing the impact of household digital economy participation on the financial asset allocation of the elderly, explores its specific mechanisms, and proposes corresponding policy recommendations considering the challenges faced by the elderly. Based on the above analysis, this paper utilizes data from the 2019 national micro-household survey conducted by the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics to explore the impact of household digital economy participation on the financial asset allocation of the elderly.
Conclusion
As China's population aging deepens, how to improve the wealth security level of the elderly population has become an important social issue that urgently needs to be addressed. Financial asset allocation, as a crucial means to achieve financial security and quality of life for the elderly, relates not only to the efficiency of family financial management but also directly affects the effectiveness of national policies in addressing pension risks. Against the backdrop of the rapid development of the digital economy, the deep integration of technological innovation and financial services provides new possibilities for improving the asset allocation efficiency of the elderly. However, given the practical challenges the elderly generally face, such as weak financial knowledge, high technical barriers, and limited information access channels, how to enable them to truly benefit from the digital economy has become the core issue of this study. Based on data from the 2019 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), this paper focuses on the impact of household digital economy participation on the financial asset allocation of the elderly and systematically conducts empirical analysis. The study finds that household-level digital economy participation significantly optimizes the structure of financial asset allocation for the elderly, showing positive effects on the types, scale, and diversification of financial assets. Further mechanism analysis reveals that this impact is primarily achieved by enhancing the financial literacy and financial information attention of the elderly. Meanwhile, risk preference plays a positive moderating role, meaning that the elderly with higher risk tolerance are more likely to benefit from the digital economy. Additionally, heterogeneity analysis shows that this optimization effect is more pronounced in urban households and households engaged in industry and commerce. Further research also confirms the positive impact of optimized financial asset allocation on both the objective welfare (consumption expenditure) and subjective welfare (happiness) of the elderly. Based on the above findings, this paper proposes the following policy recommendations:
First, strengthen age-friendly digital infrastructure construction to bridge the urban-rural "digital divide." Increase investment in network and communication infrastructure in rural and underdeveloped areas, promote broadband access in rural areas, popularize smart devices, and implement user-friendly, age-appropriate adaptations for terminals. Simultaneously, establish digital service support windows in community service centers and village-level information stations to help the elderly access and use financial service platforms, narrowing the gap in digital participation between urban and rural areas.
Second, construct a multi-level system to enhance the financial literacy of the elderly, laying a solid foundation for investment awareness. It is recommended to promote multi-stakeholder cooperation (government, financial institutions, community organizations) with fiscal support to implement tiered and categorized financial education programs. Tailored training courses should be developed for the elderly with different education levels and information capabilities, covering topics such as risk identification, basic financial knowledge, and fraud prevention, to improve their investment judgment and rational decisionmaking abilities.
Third, improve the accessibility of financial information for the elderly to stimulate their willingness to pay attention to investments. Establish information dissemination channels that are closer to the elderly population. Encourage mainstream media to open "Senior Finance" columns, and financial platforms to launch age-friendly information sections, simplifying content and presenting operational processes visually. Promote a "one-stop" financial information acquisition and push mechanism, providing personalized, tiered, and clearly risk-indicated product information for elderly users, reducing cognitive costs, and enhancing their willingness to invest. Fourth, enrich the system of financial products for the elderly that match their risk characteristics to achieve refined matching. The study finds that risk preference plays a moderating role between the digital economy and asset allocation. To guide the elderly with different risk preferences to allocate financial assets reasonably, it is recommended that financial institutions develop wealth management products categorized by risk level and provide customized asset allocation suggestions based on risk assessment results, helping the elderly achieve a balance between returns and security. Fifth, strengthen the effective conversion mechanism of digital economy achievements into the welfare of the elderly. The empirical results indicate that optimized financial asset allocation significantly improves the consumption capacity and happiness of the elderly. To promote the conversion of financial behavior into improved living standards for the elderly, relevant supporting mechanisms should be improved. For example, encouraging the allocation of part of the returns from digital financial products to health insurance, medical expenses, and life service consumption for the elderly, and promoting the integrated development of "finance + elderly care + health." At the same time, digital financial assistance policies for low-income elderly groups should be strengthened to achieve fair distribution of digital dividends.