Abstract:

Based on panel data from 29 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) in China from 2013 to 2023, this study constructed a double fixed-effects model to empirically examine the effect of the digital economy on farmers’ income. The results showed that digital economy development promoted farmers’ income increase, but there was significant regional heterogeneity. The effects were significantly positive in the western and central regions, while in the eastern region, due to the rapid development of the digital economy but the failure to timely improve farmers’ skills to adapt to the new economic environment, the effect of increasing income has not been reflected. The effect of different dimensions of the digital economy varies significantly, among which the effect of digital economic infrastructure was not significant. The effects of digital economic applications and the digital economic environment were both significant, and the promotion effect of the digital economic environment was the strongest. Among the four control variables, the urbanization level had the greatest effect on the growth of farmers’ income, the development level of regional economic and rural human capital had also significantly promoted the growth of farmers’ income. It is suggested to deepen the implementation of digital rural construction, increase talent training efforts, improve supporting policies, and promote the deep integration of digital economy and rural economy.

Key words: digital economy, farmers’ income, heterogeneity, digital divide