Abstract: The upgrading of household consumption based on the change of population age structure is an important microcosmic basis for China’s high – quality economic development. This paper empirically analyzes the impact of the change of population age structure on household consumption upgrading using 5 issues of China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data. The results show that the increase of the dependency ratio of the elderly has a significant promoting effect on the improvement of the household consumption structure, while the increase of the child dependency ratio has a significant inhibiting effect on the improvement of the household consumption structure, and the crowding – out effect of child dependency ratio has a significant inhibiting effect on the improvement of the household consumption structure, and the crowding – out effect of child dependency burden on high – level consumption is much larger than the promotion effect of elderly dependency burden on high level consumption. Family economic conditions and health status can positively regulate the consumption upgrading effect of the increase of the elderly dependency ratio and weaken the inhibitory effect of the increase of the child dependency ratio on the consumption upgrading, that is, in families with better economic conditions and better health status, the increase in the elderly dependency ratio has a more obvious promotion effect on household consumption upgrading, while the increase in the child dependency ratio has a less obvious crowding – out effect on household consumption upgrade. The effect of the change of population age structure on the upgrading of household consumption is more obvious in rural areas, and the adjustment of population age structure brought by the aging and comprehensive ‘ two – child’ policy will widen the consumption gap between urban and rural households. From the research of different regions, the promotion effect of the upgrading of household consumption structure brought by the increase of elderly dependency ratio is the most obvious in central China, while the inhibitory effect of the upgrading of household consumption structure brought by the increase of child dependency ratio is the most obvious in western China. In this regard, to cope with the different influences of the change of population age structure on the expansion of consumption and consumption upgrading, the decision – making government departments should take the change of population age structure into full consideration when adjusting the industrial structure and planning the allocation of public resources. These departments should take advantage of advanced financial instruments and financial products to reduce the ‘ageing family’ precautionary savings, and introduce relevant ‘burden reduction’ policies to reduce the dependency burden of families affected by the ‘one – child’ policy. It is expected that eventually a virtuous circle of population age structure change, consumption structure improvement and high – quality economic development can be realized through removing institutional barriers to the division between urban and rural areas and between different regions and improving the welfare of residents in backward areas.

Keywords: population age structure; upgrading of household consumption; CFPS data