(Measuring the Value of Internet Usage in China: A Research Based on Time Allocation)

Abstract

Chinese Abstract: 互联网经济通过大幅度降低交易成本和降低信息不对称程度，加速现有交易的发 生，并促成新的交易，提高整体社会福利。由于还没有充分考量“数据”和“信息”等新要 素的影响，基于资本和劳动生产要素的传统国民经济核算体系暂时还无法很好的对新经济做 完整的福利评估。有鉴于此，本文基于 Goolsbee and Klenow（2006）的方法，利用人们的 网络消费时间估算互联网使用带来的消费者剩余规模。结果显示：平均而言，网民通过互联 网使用所获得的消费者剩余相当于其劳动收入的 35.4%，每人每小时网络使用产生的消费者 剩余为 11.88 元。2016 年，全国网民使用互联网产生的消费者剩余高达 8.5 万亿，相当于 同年 GDP 总额的 10.84%。本文的研究对如何理解新经济的福利效应做了一个初步的探讨， 有一定的理论和应用价值。 English Abstract: The Internet accelerates not only current transactions but also transactions by reducing transaction costs and information asymmetry. Hence it improves overall social welfare. Due to the lack of elements such as and information, the traditional national economic accounting system based on capital and labor cannot make a complete welfare assessment for the new economy. In this paper, we use the method proposed by Goolsbee and Klenow (2006) to estimate the magnitude of consumer surplus created by Internet usage through users' time allocation data in CFPS. The results show that the average consumer surplus of each Internet user is 35.4% of one's labor income, and the hourly surplus per person is $11.88. In 2016, Internet created consumer surplus up to 8.456 trillion in China, which equals to 10.88% of China's annual GDP. Either in absolute terms or as a percentage of income, the consumer surplus in the western region is the largest, followed by the central region and eastern region with the fewest. This research is the first on the topic in China.