Can the Digital Economy Reduce the Rural-Urban Income Gap?

Currently, the Chinese government is considering two major strategies, namely, developing the digital economy and achieving common prosperity, to address regional development imbalances. Using panel data from 276 Chinese cities spanning from 2011 to 2019, the article first employs the entropy method to measure China’s digital economy development, digital fusion application, and Internet accessibility. Subsequently, the paper evaluates the influence of the digital economy on regional development imbalances, focusing on the rural-urban income gap. The results show a significant reduction in the rural-urban income gap due to digital economy development. Notably, digital fusion applications have a greater impact on reducing the rural-urban income gap than Internet accessibility. In addition, a heterogeneity analysis reveals that the influence of the digital economy on the rural-urban income gap is only reflected in the eastern and western regions, with a more substantial effect observed in the western region. This study, to some extent, helps Chinese government officials distinguish the diverse impacts of different dimensions and regional variations in digital economies on the rural-urban income gap. Such insights can guide the government in strategically advancing digital economy development to accelerate the mitigation of regional disparities and achieve sustainable economic development.