Theoretical and mechanism research on the influence of residents’ digital skills on regional cultural and tourism consumption gaps

Narrowing the regional cultural and tourism consumption gaps (CTCG) is a proper way to realize common prosperity. With the development of digital economy, residents' digital skills gradually become an important factor that affects their cultural and tourism consumption. Studying how residents' digital skills affect the regional CTCG has important theoretical and practical values for promoting common prosperity. This study used the China Family Panel Study (CFPS) database to construct digital skill and digital skill divide indices of residents in various districts and counties across China's mainland, and then explored the mechanisms of the impact of residents' digital skills and their divide on the regional CTCG. The study found that: 1) Residents' digital skills effectively narrowed the regional CTCG, while the digital skill divide exacerbated the difference, and these conclusions are still valid after the robustness test and endogeneity treatment. 2) With regard to the mechanism of influence, residents' digital skills reduced the CTCG by increasing regional employment adequacy and income levels, while the digital skill divide exacerbated the gaps by decreasing these factors. 3) With regard to the differences in the type of digital skills, Internet-related digital skills, especially in learning, working, and socializing, significantly reduced the regional CTCG; while all types of digital skill divides widened the gap. The impact of non-Internet digital skills and their divides on the regional CTCG is not significant. It is worth noting that the growth of different types of digital skills all contributed to narrowing the digital skill divide. 4) As far as regional differences are concerned, the impact of residents' digital skills and their divides on regional CTCG is more significant in the western and northeast regions. This study not only enriches the research on residents' consumption inequality, but also provides important insights and grounds for narrowing the regional CTCG in the context of the digital economy.