Study on the Impact of Information Consumption on the Structural Upgrade of Service Industry: Evidence from the National Information Consumption Pilot

As an important emerging consumer sector, information consumption has become a key driver of industrial upgrading and a catalyst for high-quality economic development. Using the “national information consumption pilot” as an exogenous policy shock, this paper evaluates the impact of information consumption pilots on the structural upgrading of the service industry and explores the underlying mechanisms. The analysis is based on panel data from 275 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2019, employing a staggered difference-in-differences(DID) model. The findings indicate that information consumption pilots significantly enhance the development of productive and modern service industries, thereby promoting the structural upgrading of the service sector. Mechanism analysis reveals that the information consumption pilots primarily foster this structural upgrading through improvements in capital efficiency and technological progress, while the mechanism through which information consumption demand is increased appears to be less significant. Heterogeneity analysis further shows that the pilots have a pronounced positive effect on sectors such as information transmission, computer services and software, real estate, and leasing and business services. Additionally, the pilots have a stronger impact in the eastern regions of China, where more developed information infrastructure amplifies the effect. However, the marginal effect diminishes as the service industry structure improves over time. In light of these findings, this study suggests that effective strategies for developing information consumption should be explored and implemented. The government plays a crucial role in coordinating and unlocking the potential of residential information consumption, ultimately contributing to the creation of a high-quality and efficient service industry system.