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KDI 경제교육·정보센터

ENG
  • 경제배움
  • Economic

    Information

    and Education

    Center

최신자료
Consumption Inequality in the Digital Age
CEPR
2026.04.13
This paper studies how digitalization affects consumption inequality. We assemble a novel dataset of digital technology in consumption, and establish that high-income households consume a larger share of digitally produced products than low-income households. We show that these products become relatively cheaper, which benefits rich households and contributes to consumption inequality. In a structural model with heterogeneous workers and non-homothetic preferences, we quantify the impact of digitalization on consumption inequality. The model demonstrates that a U-shaped income polarization translates into J-shaped welfare changes, as the price effect mutes income gains at the bottom while amplifying them at the top.