Lin Suxu, He Lin, Lin Xin, Li Weicheng
School of Management, Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
School of Finance and Economics, Guangdong Polytechnic Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.
PLoS One. 2024 Dec 9;19(12):e0315372. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0315372. eCollection 2024.
Carbon emissions from household consumption are an important part of global energy consumption, and household digital transformation is vital for realizing green and low-carbon development. Using data from the 2019 China Household Finance Survey, this study empirically examines the effect of household digital transformation on household energy efficiency. The results show that household digital transformation significantly improves household energy efficiency across all quantiles. This effect varies by consumption type, with the most pronounced improvements in food, housing, and other consumption categories. The impact is stronger for households with elderly members. Per capita household income and education level serve as important mediating and moderating mechanisms, respectively. Unlike previous macro-level studies, this research provides micro-evidence on the impact of household digital transformation on energy efficiency, explores the underlying mechanisms through income and education effects, and examines heterogeneous impacts across different consumption types and household characteristics. These findings offer important policy implications for leveraging digital transformation to enhance household energy efficiency and promote sustainable development.
家庭消费产生的碳排放是全球能源消费的重要组成部分，而家庭数字化转型对于实现绿色低碳发展至关重要。本研究利用2019年中国家庭金融调查的数据，实证检验了家庭数字化转型对家庭能源效率的影响。结果表明，家庭数字化转型在所有分位数上均显著提高了家庭能源效率。这种影响因消费类型而异，在食品、住房和其他消费类别中改善最为明显。对有老年成员的家庭影响更强。家庭人均收入和教育水平分别作为重要的中介和调节机制。与以往的宏观层面研究不同，本研究提供了家庭数字化转型对能源效率影响的微观证据，通过收入和教育效应探索了潜在机制，并考察了不同消费类型和家庭特征的异质性影响。这些发现为利用数字化转型提高家庭能源效率和促进可持续发展提供了重要的政策启示。
