Mechanism Study on the Impact of China Population Structure Change on the Water Use of the Three Main Industries

As the principal part of economic and social development, the demographic factor is the fundamental factor driving the change of water resources, and achieving the harmony of human and water has been one of the most important tasks to promote high-quality development. Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, this article applied panel data for 19 years and employed impulse response functions and threshold models to do a mechanism analysis of the impact of population structure changes on the water consumption changes of the three main industries. The study found the following: Firstly, the urban population promotes an increase of the total water consumption, industrial water consumption, and domestic water consumption, which suppresses agricultural water consumption and shows an inverted “ N ” trend. Secondly, the aging population has expanded the total water consumption, and agricultural and domestic water demand, and reduced industrial water consumption. Thirdly, food consumption helps to reduce the total water consumption and agricultural water consumption, but increases the industrial water consumption and the growth rate rises. Fourthly, the increase in the proportion of agricultural employment reduces the total water consumption, and agricultural and domestic water consumption, and increases industrial water consumption. Fifthly, the total water consumption and domestic water consumption both increase with the improvement of the population education level, while the agricultural water consumption declines first and then rises. The empirical results can provide a reference for analyzing the driving mechanisms of regional water consumption changes.