| According to the National Bureau of Statistics data,at the end of 2019,there were253.88 million people over 60 years old in China,accounting for 18.1% of the total population.Since China entered the aging society in 2000,the proportion of the elderly population has continued to rise,the degree of aging has deepened,and population aging has become a challenge that must be faced in China’s social construction and economic development.As a gradually large consumer group,the consumption potential of the elderly group is huge and growing,and its influence on the whole residential consumption market is becoming more and more prominent.Therefore,it is of great theoretical value and practical significance for China’s population and sustainable economic development to study the current consumption situation of the elderly,analyze the influencing factors of their consumption expenditure,and thus stimulate their consumption potential.However,in terms of the current research progress in China,many studies focus on the impact of population aging on consumption,while there are fewer studies on the factors influencing consumption expenditure of the elderly population.Even among the studies on the influencing factors of consumption expenditure of the elderly population,most of them focus on the influence of individual characteristics,the influence of family support and the influence of social security system,while there are few empirical studies that consider five aspects comprehensively,such as macro policy factors,individual factors,family factors,residence factors and regional factors.Therefore,based on the relevant theoretical studies,this paper uses the micro data of China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study(CHARLS)to firstly analyze the current consumption situation of urban elderly population.Secondly,this paper adopts structural equation modeling to select 16 indicators in five aspects,including macro policy factors,personal factors,household factors,residence factors,and regional factors,as observed variables to empirically analyze the influencing factors of consumption expenditure of the urban elderly population in China.Firstly,this paper finds that while the per capita income and per capita consumption of the urban elderly population continue to rise and the consumption structure is optimized,the per capita income of the urban elderly population continues to be lower than the per capita consumption expenditure,and there is a problem that “income is not enough to meet expenditure”.Secondly,through the empirical study of the factors influencing the consumption expenditure of the urban elderly population,we found the following factors.First,macro policy factors and personal factors have a significant positive influence on the consumption expenditure of the urban elderly population.Family factors and residence factors have significant negative effects on consumption expenditure of urban elderly population.Regional factors have no significant impact on the consumption of urban elderly population.The influence on consumption expenditure of the urban elderly population is ranked in order of macro policy factors,family factors,personal factors and residence factors.Secondly,personal factors,residence factors and family factors are used as mediating variables for consumption expenditure of the urban elderly population;regional factors influence elderly consumption expenditure through family factors,and family factors influence elderly consumption expenditure through personal factors and residence factors.Finally,combined with the results of the analysis of the current situation of the urban elderly population and its influencing factors,it is proposed to increase multi-channel employment opportunities and improve the income situation of the elderly population.Improve the old-age and medical security system to reduce the uncertainty of consumption of the elderly population.Strengthen the function of family retirement to ease the pressure of retirement.Improve the education and health level of the elderly to improve the consumption structure of the elderly population,etc. |
