The Heterogeneous Impact of Digital Technology Utilization on Rural Household Income: Evidence from China

Digital technology brings widespread development opportunities to rural areas and also poses challenges for optimizing income distribution and achieving common prosperity. Based on the current situation of digital technology applications in rural areas, this study utilizes micro-data from the China Rural Revitalization Survey (CRRS) to investigate the impact of digital technology utilization (DTU) on rural household income and its heterogeneity. Additionally, it combines a perspective on income structure differences to conduct mechanism analysis. The research conclusion indicates that digital technology has a significant positive impact on rural household income. After robustness tests such as replacing variable measurements and excluding the impact of exclusive policies, as well as endogeneity treatment of instrumental variable estimation, the conclusion still holds. Results from unconditional quantile regression (UQR) reveal heterogeneous effects of DTU on household income, being more favorable for higher-income groups. Mechanism tests demonstrate that household income structure plays a crucial role, with digital technology influencing income disparity through its impact on operating income.