Analysis on the Social and Economic Impacts of Internet Platforms : (Based on Survey Data from WeChat (China) during 2019-2020)

摘要

In recent years, the global economy has been going through a critical period of economic growth driver transformation, with further economic slowdown. At the same time, the outbreak of COVID-19 has brought a severe blow to the world’s economy. Against these backdrops, the digital economy has presented extraordinary resilience of development, bringing unprecedented opportunities to various industries and injecting new momentum to social and economic development. How large is the impact of the Internet platform economy on economic and social development? Will it increase the overall employment or influence the employment structure? Has the Internet platform truly stabilized the economy and society during the outbreak? Through case studies on the survey data from WeChat during 2019-2020, this paper employs questionnaire-based statistical approach and the expenditure approach applied in measuring national economic accounting to unveil the impacts of Internet platforms on economic and social development, hoping to provide reference to future studies in the field.