ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Aging and Public Health
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1610952
How Digital Economy Shapes Elderly Care Services: Evidence from China
Provisionally accepted
- 1Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
- 2Jinhua Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, China
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Background: In the context of an aging society and the burgeoning development of the silver economy, enhancing elderly care services has emerged as a pivotal concern. The technological advancements and industrial shifts driven by the digital economy have provided a novel solution to this challenge. Besides, social organizations, as institutionalized networks of social relations, are important providers of social support for elderly people.Methods: Drawing on panel data from 30 provinces in China over the period from 2013 to 2023, this paper empirically investigates the impact mechanism through which the digital economy affects elderly care services.Results: It is found that the digital economy can enhance the quality of elderly care services, primarily by boosting innovation in elderly care-related corporations and driving the development of the elderly care industry (industrial agglomeration and increase in output value). Meanwhile, the positive impact of the digital economy on elderly care services is further strengthened by the social support provided by social organizations. Additionally, the digital economy can also facilitate the improvement of elderly care services in neighboring provinces to a certain extent through spatial spillover effects. Conclusion: The findings of this paper offer policy insights and confidence for accurately understanding the relationship between the digital economy and elderly care services, and for effectively enhancing elderly care services through the development of the digital economy and the improvement of social governance.
Keywords: digital economy, Elderly care service, technological innovation, Elderly care industry, social support, social governance
Received: 13 Apr 2025; Accepted: 18 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Bian, Kong and Jiangming. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Zihe Kong, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
Kong Jiangming, Jinhua Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jinhua, 32110, Zhejiang Province, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.