Lin Chen

** Core views:** We should seize the opportunities for the rapid development of the digital economy, remove institutional and institutional obstacles that restrict the release of domestic demand potential, continuously expand effective demand, and help sustained and healthy economic development.

■ Lin Chen and Li Ruiqi

Expanding effective demand is the key to driving economic recovery. Therefore, solving the prominent contradiction of insufficient effective demand has become the top priority of the current government's work.

As an important support for the transformation of old and new kinetic energy, the digital economy can improve production efficiency, optimize market matching, and promote technological innovation, and plays a key role in the creation, satisfaction and expansion of effective demand. We should seize the opportunities for rapid development of the digital economy, break down institutional and institutional obstacles that restrict the release of domestic demand potential, continuously expand effective demand, and help sustained and healthy economic development.

01 The main characteristics that distinguish the digital economy from the traditional economy

China's digital economy is showing rapid growth, and the scale of the digital economy continues to expand. In 2022, the scale of China's digital economy will reach 50.2 trillion yuan, a nominal increase of 10.3% year-on-year, making it an important part of the national economy. The digital economy uses data as a key factor of production. Through the extensive application of information technology, production and transactions are carried out on digital platforms such as the Internet and the Internet of Things, promoting profound changes in production methods and economic structure. Compared with the traditional economy, the digital economy has the following distinctive characteristics.

Automation is more thorough. The development of the digital economy has greatly promoted the progress and application of automation technology. First of all, in the traditional industrial era, automation mainly replaces repetitive and regular physical labor. Automation technology in the digital economy era is more thorough. It can not only handle repetitive labor, but also handle non-repetitive labor and make decisions on complex issues. The application of artificial intelligence and machine learning technology makes automation in the digital economy not limited to simple task automation, such as data entry or repeated operations on production lines, but also allows machines to imitate and learn human cognitive abilities, perform pattern recognition, prediction, analysis and decision-making, thereby achieving automation in multiple aspects such as research and development, production, and management. Secondly, the application scope of automation technology is also constantly expanding. From manufacturing to service industries, from logistics to finance, various fields are undergoing automation changes. More thorough automation can improve production efficiency, reduce production costs, and provide new impetus for economic growth.

Information matching is more complete. Another distinctive feature of the digital economy is the efficient flow and accurate matching of information. On the one hand, relying on technologies such as the Internet, big data, and cloud computing, the performance of data collection, storage, processing and processing has been greatly improved, greatly improving the timeliness and accessibility of information. On the other hand, the application of personalized recommendation algorithms makes information matching more accurate and complete. After analyzing and processing consumers 'behavioral habits and preferences, producers conduct precise production and supply based on this demand information, thereby pushing products and services that best meet consumers' needs and improving the efficiency of resource allocation.

02 Mechanism for the digital economy to expand demand

The development of the digital economy is closely linked to the growth of effective demand. The digital economy can expand effective demand through a variety of mechanisms, of which information matching and the application of new technologies are two key factors. These mechanisms not only promote consumption growth, but also stimulate investment vitality, which in turn drives economic growth.

Information matching improves consumption matching and stimulates consumer demand. Digital technology can improve the information matching between supply and demand sides in the consumer sector. First, information matching can provide personalized and customized services. The information matching mechanism under the digital economy can achieve accurate analysis and prediction of consumer needs. Consumers can more accurately find products and services that meet their needs, improving consumption matching and satisfaction. This improvement not only promotes the growth of consumption, but also promotes the upgrading of consumption structure. Second, information matching can improve information transparency and efficiency. The integrity of information matching can reduce information asymmetry problems, help consumers make more informed consumption decisions, and help companies better grasp market demand. Third, information matching can promote market competition. Information matching improves consumption matching, and promotes enterprises to continuously carry out technological innovation and improve product and service quality, further stimulate consumption potential, expand consumer demand, and form a virtuous cycle.

The technological revolution stimulates investment demand. Digital economy originates from the technological revolution represented by Internet, big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence and blockchain. At the same time, the evolution of technological revolution further promotes the high-quality development of digital economy. From the history of industrial revolution, large-scale technological progress can effectively stimulate investment demand. For enterprises, the application of new technology can significantly improve production efficiency, improve the quality of products and services, and enhance the core competitiveness of enterprises. Every time the advent of new technology can often open up new market areas, create new consumer demand, and promote the digital transformation and development of traditional industries. Enterprises have the motivation to upgrade technology and equipment, which gives rise to the demand for investment in new technologies. For the government, the development of new technologies requires new infrastructure construction, such as the promotion of 5G communication network requires a large number of base stations, the construction of smart cities requires the deployment of Internet of things equipment, and so on. The government should predictably deploy new infrastructure construction in advance to ensure that digital infrastructure can adapt to future technological changes and meet the needs of long-term development, so as to seize new opportunities for the development of digital economy and provide a solid foundation for the sustained growth of digital economy. The effective investment of the government can enlarge the investment of the private sector and form a virtuous economic circle.

03 Releasing the potential of domestic demand requires opening up several blockages

Since the beginning of the new year, the domestic economy has continued to recover steadily, the consumer market has gradually warmed up, and domestic demand has maintained a good recovery momentum. In the long run, China's economic situation will generally remain stable and improving, but it still needs to be vigilant and respond to various internal and external risks and challenges. Domestically, structural problems still exist, and there are blockages in the domestic circulation. Internationally, the global economic recovery is unstable and unbalanced, trade protectionism and unilateralism are on the rise, and geopolitical risks in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and other places have intensified. These uncertain factors are intertwined and have had complex impacts on China's economic stability and growth. Domestic demand is an important driving force for China's economic growth. A strong domestic demand market can effectively absorb and disperse various risks. To make full use of the dividends of the digital economy, stimulate the potential of domestic demand, and enhance economic resilience, we need to break through the following key blockages.

first, we must 优化收入分配结构，提升居民可支配收入。收入分配是连接生产和消费的重要环节，收入分配不均是制约内需扩大的重要因素，经济增长的红利应当更多地惠及广大人民群众。数字经济在做大整体“蛋糕”的同时，也为如何公平合理地分配“蛋糕”带来了新的机遇和挑战。首先，坚持按劳分配为主体、多种分配方式并存的分配制度。提高劳动报酬在初次分配中的比重，健全各类生产要素由市场决定报酬的机制，尤其是关注数据要素分配体系的规范和完善，分配好数据要素的红利。其次，通过税收调节、社会保障和转移支付等手段，调节收入分配差距，提高低收入群体的收入水平，扩大中等收入群体比重，形成中间大、两头小的橄榄型分配结构。再次，鼓励传统产业数字化转型，优化产业结构，创造更多高收入岗位；鼓励发展数字金融，提高金融服务的普及率，降低交易成本，促进居民收入的增长。最后，处理好市场与政府之间的关系，优化政府支配资源和居民可支配收入之间的比例，扩大有效需求。

second, we must 引导资本健康发展，提升消费者福利。数字经济的特点之一是固定成本高于可变成本，容易导致少数大型企业占据市场主导地位，垄断行为的风险增加，损害市场的公平性和消费者的利益。首先，引导数字经济中资本的健康发展。随着数字经济的发展，市场结构和企业行为也在不断变化，反垄断法律也需要与时俱进，以适应新兴市场环境，规范和引导资本发展。2021年2月7日，国务院反垄断委员会印发《关于平台经济领域的反垄断指南》，促进平台经济规范有序创新健康发展。其次，建立容忍创新，鼓励竞争的生态环境。政府要在数字经济不同的发展阶段实施不同的管理和引导策略。在数字经济的新生时期，开放和包容是关键。政策应当相对宽松，减少不必要的干预，有助于激发创新潜力、促进多元化发展。随着数字经济的发展和成熟，规范行业行为显得尤为重要。政府通过制定法律规章，防止垄断和不公平竞争，以确保数字经济的健康有序发展。最后，保护消费者权益。通过对垄断行为的规制，防止平台运用垄断地位压缩消费者福利。通过强化法规的制定和执行，规制不正当手段收集和使用消费者数据的行为，保护消费者的隐私权和个人信息安全，推动平台经济朝着公开化、透明化的方向发展，提升消费者福利。

third, we must 引导市场预期，提升投资消费信心。市场预期是连接当前经济状况与未来经济活动的桥梁。首先，政府和监管机构应提高宏观经济政策的透明度和可预测性，稳定市场预期，提升企业和消费者的信心。数字经济为宏观经济政策提供了精准的数据支持，政府可以利用大数据分析等手段，更准确地把握经济运行的态势，辅以定期发布经济报告、政策解读和前瞻性指导的手段，帮助市场主体更好地理解政策意图和经济走向。其次，在数字经济的浪潮下推动新技术、新产业、新业态的快速发展，为消费者带来便利，也为投资者提供新的投资领域和增长点，有利于激发市场活力，提升投资消费信心，促进投资消费的增长。

fourth, we must 缓解数字不平等，促进平等消费。数字不平等已经成为全球性的社会问题。城乡之间、不同收入群体之间在数字资源获取渠道和利用能力上的差距，限制了内需潜力的释放，数字鸿沟问题日益凸显。首先，要加强数字化设计的包容性和多样性。鼓励企业开发适应不同人群需求的数字化产品和服务，特别是老年人、残疾人等特殊群体的需求。其次，大力开展数字技能培训项目。提高居民的数字素养，尤其是在偏远地区和贫困地区，确保人人都能平等享有数字经济发展带来的福利。最后，实施数字扶贫策略，建设数字化乡村。比如通过电子商务平台，畅通农产品和手工艺品的销售渠道，增加就业岗位，提高农民收入，从而扩大农村地区消费需求。

(Lin Chen, Executive Dean of the National Institute of Development and Strategy, Renmin University of China; Li Ruiqi, PhD candidate at the School of Applied Economics, Renmin University of China)