The Influence of Digital Skills on Farm Households’ Vulnerability to Relative Poverty: Implications for the Sustainability of Farmers’ Livelihoods

Improving farmers’ digital skills is instrumental in reducing the risk of farmer households reverting to poverty and in fostering sustainable livelihood development. This study investigated the impact of digital skills on the relative vulnerability of farm households to poverty and explored the mediating role of social capital. Based on 2022 field survey data from 917 rural households in Yunnan Province, China, we employed a probit model to evaluate how digital skills influence the likelihood of poverty reversion among farm households. The findings indicated that enhancing digital skills significantly reduced households’ vulnerability to poverty, thereby mitigating the risk of poverty recurrence. The heterogeneity analysis revealed that the impact of digital skills was more pronounced among low-income households. Among various digital skills, social digital skills exerted the strongest effect in reducing poverty vulnerability. Further analysis demonstrated that enhanced digital skills strengthened social capital, which subsequently reduced the risk of poverty reversion. To ensure sustainable poverty alleviation and prevent widespread poverty relapse, accelerating the development of digital skills among rural populations in western China is essential. This will create new development opportunities and contribute to long-term livelihood sustainability.