The influence of digital economy on rural per capita disposable income: evidence from China

The flourishing development of digital economy (DE) in China has profoundly affected the operation mode of social industry, commerce, agriculture and other industries, and the influence of DE on rural residents’ income needs further study. Based on the panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2017 to 2020, a multiple linear regression model of DE and rural per capita disposable income (PCDI) is constructed, and the model is estimated by the two-stage least squares method. The findings show that DE can improve rural PCDI. From the perspective of the intermediary effect, DE can promote rural PCDI through reducing agricultural product output, because the development of DE broadens the income channels of planting crops and reduces the production and operation costs. From the perspective of the adjustment effect, technological innovation has a significant negative adjustment effect on the influence of DE on PCDI, which shows that although DE makes up for some shortcomings in rural areas through technological innovation, it also accelerates the loss of resources.