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Many societies around the world are rapidly aging and this has implications for social and economic development. We collect data on NEEQ-listed enterprises from 2010 to 2021 in China and empirically test the effect of population aging on the digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The findings show that population aging has a significant positive impact on SME digital transformation, and private enterprises and enterprises in eastern regions of China tend to benefit more than other regions. The mechanism studies find that population aging positively impacts SME digital transformation by increasing labor costs, facilitating human capital accumulation, and raising savings rates. Furthermore, the threshold effect analyses find that the marginal promotion effect of population aging will weaken with greater aging and will strengthen with a higher level of marketization. Finally, we provide policy recommendations for promoting digital transformation in SMEs against the background of population aging.

全球诸多社会正快速迈入老龄化阶段，这对社会与经济发展均产生深远影响。本研究采集2010至2021年中国全国中小企业股份转让系统（National Equities Exchange and Quotations，简称NEEQ）挂牌企业数据，实证检验人口老龄化对中小企业（Small and Medium-sized Enterprises，简称SMEs）数字化转型的影响。研究结果表明，人口老龄化对中小企业数字化转型具有显著正向影响，民营企业与中国东部地区企业相较其他地区企业更易从中获益。机制分析显示，人口老龄化通过提升劳动力成本、促进人力资本积累以及提高储蓄率三条路径，对中小企业数字化转型产生正向推动作用。此外，门槛效应检验发现，人口老龄化的边际促进效应会随老龄化程度加深而减弱，随市场化水平提升而增强。最后，本研究针对人口老龄化背景下推动中小企业数字化转型提出了针对性政策建议。