Digital literacy and financial market participation of middle-aged and elderly adults in China

Abstract Digital literacy has become increasingly important for individuals to participate in regular economic activities, including employment, consumption, and investment. This paper quantitatively defines digital literacy with recently released household survey data in China and describes the digital divide across regions and ages. We further show that digital literacy increases risky asset ownership in the financial market among the middle-aged and elderly population. In this sense, this paper identifies a novel factor that affects financial investment. These findings imply that the digital divide may lead to the asset divide and wealth inequality. Family and social assistance to improve the digital literacy of disadvantaged population groups may increase financial inclusion as well.