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E‐commerce development and urban‐rural income gap: Evidence from Zhejiang Province, China

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  • Lili Li
  • Yiwu Zeng
  • Zi Ye
  • Hongdong Guo

Abstract

This study aims to reveal how e‐commerce affects the income gap between urban and rural areas in the context of developing world. An empirical examination was carried out by using the panel data of 11 cities in Zhejiang Province, China, from 2011 to 2018. The results show that there is an inverted‐U relationship between e‐commerce development and urban–rural income gap. Zhejiang is still on the left side of the inverted‐U curve, where e‐commerce development increases the urban–rural income gap. The government should create more favorable conditions for the popularization of rural e‐commerce and advance the turning point. Este estudio tiene por objeto mostrar la forma en que el comercio electrónico afecta a la brecha salarial entre las zonas urbanas y rurales en el contexto del mundo en desarrollo. Se realizó un examen empírico utilizando datos de panel de 11 ciudades de la provincia de Zhejiang (China), de 2011 a 2018. Los resultados muestran que existe una relación de U invertida entre el desarrollo del comercio electrónico y la brecha salarial entre las zonas urbanas y rurales. Zhejiang sigue en el lado izquierdo de la curva U invertida, donde el desarrollo del comercio electrónico aumenta la brecha salarial entre las zonas urbanas y rurales. El gobierno debería crear condiciones más favorables para la popularización del comercio electrónico rural y hacer que se llegue antes al punto de inflexión. 本稿の目的は、eコマースが、開発途上国の状況における都市部と農村部の所得格差にどのように影響するかを明らかにすることである。2011~2018年までの中国浙江省の11都市のパネルデータを用いて実証分析を行った。結果から、eコマースの発達と、都市部と農村部との所得格差に逆U字型の関連があることが示された。浙江省は今なお逆U字型カーブの左側にあり、eコマースの発達によって都市部と農村部との所得格差が拡大している。政府は、農村部におけるeコマースの普及に有利な状況を作り、早期に転換期を迎えるべきである。

Suggested Citation

  • Lili Li & Yiwu Zeng & Zi Ye & Hongdong Guo, 2021. "E‐commerce development and urban‐rural income gap: Evidence from Zhejiang Province, China," Papers in Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 100(2), pages 475-494, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:presci:v:100:y:2021:i:2:p:475-494
    DOI: 10.1111/pirs.12571
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    5. Chen, Chen & Gan, Christopher & Li, Junpeng & Lu, Yao & Rahut, Dil, 2023. "Linking farmers to markets: Does cooperative membership facilitate e-commerce adoption and income growth in rural China?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1155-1170.
    6. Tang, Jianjun & Gong, Jiaowei & Ma, Wanglin & Rahut, Dil Bahadur, 2022. "Narrowing urban–rural income gap in China: The role of the targeted poverty alleviation program," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 74-90.
    7. Xinxin MA & Sho KOMATSU, 2023. "Impact of E-commerce Development on Income Inequality: Evidence from rural China based on cross-county panel data," Discussion papers 23044, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    8. Xiaolu Wei & Junhu Ruan, 2022. "Influences of Government Policies and Farmers’ Cognition on Farmers’ Participation Willingness and Behaviors in E-Commerce Interest Linkage Mechanisms during Farmer–Enterprise Games," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-16, October.
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