IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecanpo/v86y2025icp363-379.html

Can e-commerce bring dividends to rural households? New evidence from the income inequality perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Luo, Yaling
  • Zhou, Lei
  • Zhang, Weike

Abstract

Income inequality is a major barrier to economic growth and social harmony. It is crucial to explore whether rural e-commerce development (RECD) can efficiently alleviate income inequality in rural households (IIRH). This study examines the impact of RECD on IIRH based on the 2020 China Rural Revitalization Comprehensive Survey data. This paper found that RECD exerts a substantial and positive impact on reducing IIRH, and this finding remains robust after a series of robustness checks. Furthermore, the paper also finds that this effect is stronger for rural households with higher levels of digital usage and human capital. Mechanism analysis further reveals that RECD reduces IIRH by increasing information availability, improving financial accessibility, and enhancing the capacity of rural households to manage their land independently. These findings provide insights for the future evolution of rural e-commerce as well as for the design of policies aimed at addressing IIRH.

Suggested Citation

  • Luo, Yaling & Zhou, Lei & Zhang, Weike, 2025. "Can e-commerce bring dividends to rural households? New evidence from the income inequality perspective," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 363-379.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:86:y:2025:i:c:p:363-379
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2025.03.036
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592625001067
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eap.2025.03.036?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Anthony Siaw & Yuansheng Jiang & Martinson Ankrah Twumasi & Wonder Agbenyo & Gideon Ntim-Amo & Frank Osei Danquah & Ernest Kwarko Ankrah, 2020. "The ripple effect of credit accessibility on the technical efficiency of maize farmers in Ghana," Agricultural Finance Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 81(2), pages 189-203, August.
    2. Gao, Jing & Zeng, Yiwu & Liu, Min, 2024. "Policy interventions and market innovation in rural China: Empirical evidence from Taobao villages," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 1411-1429.
    3. Nakano, Yuko & Magezi, Eustadius F., 2020. "The impact of microcredit on agricultural technology adoption and productivity: Evidence from randomized control trial in Tanzania," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    4. Skare, Marinko & Gavurova, Beata & Rigelsky, Martin, 2023. "Innovation activity and the outcomes of B2C, B2B, and B2G E-Commerce in EU countries," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    5. Jie Liu & Zhengyin Li & Xiangdong Hu, 2023. "A Study of the Impact of Mobile Payment on the Enhancement of Consumption Structure and Pattern of Chinese Rural Households," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-22, October.
    6. Park, Hyun Jung & Lin, Li Min, 2020. "The effects of match-ups on the consumer attitudes toward internet celebrities and their live streaming contents in the context of product endorsement," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 52(C).
    7. Ying Song & Lu Li & Stavros Sindakis & Sakshi Aggarwal & Charles Chen & Saloome Showkat, 2024. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Examining E-Commerce Adoption in Farmer Entrepreneurship and the Role of Social Networks: Data from China," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(2), pages 8290-8326, June.
    8. Ma, Wanglin & Zheng, Hongyun, 2021. "Heterogeneous impacts of information technology adoption on pesticide and fertiliser expenditures: Evidence from wheat farmers in China," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 66(01), January.
    9. Shen, Zhiyang & Wang, Songkai & Boussemart, Jean-Philippe & Hao, Yu, 2022. "Digital transition and green growth in Chinese agriculture," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    10. Fan, Jingting & Tang, Lixin & Zhu, Weiming & Zou, Ben, 2018. "The Alibaba effect: Spatial consumption inequality and the welfare gains from e-commerce," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 203-220.
    11. Abbas Ali Chandio & Yuansheng Jiang & Abdul Rehman, 2018. "Credit margin of investment in the agricultural sector and credit fungibility: the case of smallholders of district Shikarpur, Sindh, Pakistan," Financial Innovation, Springer;Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, vol. 4(1), pages 1-10, December.
    12. Facundo Alvaredo & Lucas Chancel & Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman, 2017. "Global Inequality Dynamics: New Findings from WID.world," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(5), pages 404-409, May.
    13. Xiuhua Wang & Yang Fu, 2021. "Digital financial inclusion and vulnerability to poverty: evidence from Chinese rural households," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(1), pages 64-83, November.
    14. Liang Lu & Guang Tian & Patrick Hatzenbuehler, 2022. "How agricultural economists are using big data: a review," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(3), pages 494-508, January.
    15. Haruna Sekabira & Matin Qaim, 2017. "Mobile money, agricultural marketing, and off-farm income in Uganda," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 48(5), pages 597-611, September.
    16. Kiiza, Barnabas & Pederson, Glenn, 2012. "ICT-based market information and adoption of agricultural seed technologies: Insights from Uganda," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 253-259.
    17. Facundo Alvaredo & Lucas Chancel & Thomas Piketty & Emmanuel Saez & Gabriel Zucman, 2018. "The Elephant Curve of Global Inequality and Growth," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 108, pages 103-108, May.
    18. He, Yuan & Li, Ke & Wang, Yipan, 2022. "Crossing the digital divide: The impact of the digital economy on elderly individuals’ consumption upgrade in China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    19. Elinor Benami & Michael R. Carter, 2021. "Can digital technologies reshape rural microfinance? Implications for savings, credit, & insurance," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 43(4), pages 1196-1220, December.
    20. Chris Parker & Kamalini Ramdas & Nicos Savva, 2016. "Is IT Enough? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in India’s Agriculture Markets," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 62(9), pages 2481-2503, September.
    21. Jikun Huang & Lanlan Su & Qiwang Huang & Xinyu Liu, 2022. "Facilitating inclusive ICT application and e‐Commerce development in rural China," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 53(6), pages 938-952, November.
    22. Martínez-Domínguez, Marlen & Mora-Rivera, Jorge, 2020. "Internet adoption and usage patterns in rural Mexico," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    23. Wu, Bangzheng & Yang, Weiguo, 2022. "Empirical test of the impact of the digital economy on China's employment structure," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    24. Harald Hau & Yi Huang & Hongzhe Shan & Zixia Sheng, 2019. "How FinTech Enters China's Credit Market," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 109, pages 60-64, May.
    25. Xiuhua Wang & Yang Fu, 2021. "Digital financial inclusion and vulnerability to poverty: evidence from Chinese rural households," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(1), pages 64-83, November.
    26. Mushtaq, Rizwan & Bruneau, Catherine, 2019. "Microfinance, financial inclusion and ICT: Implications for poverty and inequality," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    27. Congjia Huo & Lingming Chen, 2021. "Research on the Impact of Land Circulation on the Income Gap of Rural Households: Evidence from CHIP," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-20, July.
    28. Jiayu Wan & Zhengning Pu & Christophe Tavera, 2022. "The impact of digital finance on pollutants emission: evidence from chinese cities," Post-Print hal-03554233, HAL.
    29. Kakwani, Nanak, 1985. "The Relative Deprivation Curve and Its Applications: Reply," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 3(2), pages 171-173, April.
    30. Xiao Hu & Zhengjie Wang & Jun Liu, 2022. "The impact of digital finance on household insurance purchases: evidence from micro data in China," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance - Issues and Practice, Palgrave Macmillan;The Geneva Association, vol. 47(3), pages 538-568, July.
    31. Loutfi, Ahmad Amine, 2022. "A framework for evaluating the business deployability of digital footprint based models for consumer credit," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 473-486.
    32. 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.
    33. O’Toole, Conor & Hennessy, Thia, 2015. "Do decoupled payments affect investment financing constraints? Evidence from Irish agriculture," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 67-75.
    34. Li, Xiaokang & Guo, Hongdong & Jin, Songqing & Ma, Wanglin & Zeng, Yiwu, 2021. "Do farmers gain internet dividends from E-commerce adoption? Evidence from China," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    35. Rizwan Mushtaq & Catherine Bruneau, 2019. "Microfinance, financial inclusion and ICT: Implications for poverty and inequality," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-03452826, HAL.
    36. Zhang, Wen & Yu, Lili & Wang, Zhenzhen, 2023. "Live-streaming selling modes on a retail platform," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    37. Tian, Yasi & Qian, Jing & Wang, Lei, 2021. "Village classification in metropolitan suburbs from the perspective of urban-rural integration and improvement strategies: A case study of Wuhan, central China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    38. Xu, Yueli & Peng, Zhan & Sun, Zhaojun & Zhan, Huanqi & Li, Shuai, 2022. "Does digital finance lessen credit rationing?—Evidence from Chinese farmers," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    39. Wang, Quan-Jing & Tang, Kai & Hu, Hai-Qing, 2022. "The impact of digital finance on green innovation: Evidence from provinces in China," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 1(1).
    40. Rizwan Mushtaq & Catherine Bruneau, 2019. "Microfinance, financial inclusion and ICT: Implications for poverty and inequality," Post-Print hal-03452826, HAL.
    41. Famin Yi & Lihao Yao & Yucheng Sun & Yi Cai, 2023. "E-commerce participation, digital finance and farmers' income," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(4), pages 833-852, October.
    42. Yan Mei & Danling Mao & Yuhui Lu & Wei Chu, 2020. "Effects and mechanisms of rural E‐commerce clusters on households' entrepreneurship behavior in China," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 1588-1610, December.
    43. Li, Jie & Wu, Yu & Xiao, Jing Jian, 2020. "The impact of digital finance on household consumption: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 317-326.
    44. Li, Wei & He, Weiwei, 2024. "Revenue-increasing effect of rural e-commerce: A perspective of farmers' market integration and employment growth," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 482-493.
    45. Peng, Zhuangzhuang & Dan, Ting, 2023. "Digital dividend or digital divide? Digital economy and urban-rural income inequality in China," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(9).
    46. Xin Guan & Lei He & Zhiquan Hu, 2024. "Impact of Rural E-Commerce on Farmers’ Income and Income Gap," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-22, September.
    47. Xu, Nana & Shi, Jingye & Rong, Zhao & Yuan, Yan, 2020. "Financial literacy and formal credit accessibility: Evidence from informal businesses in China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 36(C).
    48. Xie, Huilong & Zhang, Jiashu & Shao, Jingwen, 2023. "Difference in the influence of internet use on the relative poverty among farmers with different income structures," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 561-570.
    49. Liang Lu & Guang Tian & Patrick Hatzenbuehler, 2022. "How agricultural economists are using big data: a review," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(3), pages 494-508, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Qianqian Li & Qilin Liu, 2023. "Impact of Digital Financial Inclusion on Residents’ Income and Income Structure," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-20, January.
    2. Zhang, Yanyuan & Wu, Xintong & Cai, Rong, 2025. "The effects of rural e-commerce on income inequality: evidence from the National Rural E-Commerce Comprehensive Demonstration policy in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 87(C), pages 221-234.
    3. Zhang, Jiaping & Zhang, Huirong & Gong, Xiaomei, 2022. "Mobile payment and rural household consumption: Evidence from China," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(3).
    4. Duan, Zhimin & Yuan, Fangjie & Tian, Zhengjie, 2024. "Evaluating the effects of digital finance on urban poverty," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    5. Luo, Peikun & Chen, Yongqing & Shan, Donglu & Wang, Pengcheng, 2025. "Internet use, social capital and high-quality employment," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    6. Long Yang & Haiyang Lu & Sangui Wang & Meng Li, 2021. "Mobile Internet Use and Multidimensional Poverty: Evidence from A Household Survey in Rural China," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 158(3), pages 1065-1086, December.
    7. Lv, Chengchao & Song, Jie & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2022. "Can digital finance narrow the regional disparities in the quality of economic growth? Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 502-521.
    8. Suhrab, Muhammad & Chen, Pinglu & Ullah, Atta, 2024. "Digital financial inclusion and income inequality nexus: Can technology innovation and infrastructure development help in achieving sustainable development goals?," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    9. Murshed, Muntasir & Ahmed, Rizwan & Al-Tal, Raad Mahmoud & Kumpamool, Chamaiporn & Vetchagool, Witchulada & Avarado, Rafael, 2023. "Determinants of financial inclusion in South Asia: The moderating and mediating roles of internal conflict settlement," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 64(C).
    10. Lei Jin & Mingyang Liu, 2025. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Unlocking Financial Opportunities: The Substantial Alleviation of Financing Constraints on Small and Micro Enterprises Through Digital Inclusive Finance," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(1), pages 2283-2309, March.
    11. Gao, Yi & Yang, Jing & Zhao, Jingzhu & Peng, Haorong, 2025. "Impact of developmental social policy on household welfare: Evidence from China’s comprehensive demonstration policy for e-commerce in rural areas," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1820-1838.
    12. Daud, Siti Nurazira Mohd & Ahmad, Abd Halim & Trinugroho, Irwan & Rusgianto, Sulistya & Ridhwan, Masagus M., 2025. "FinTech and unemployment: New evidence on the role of labor market regulation," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    13. Song, Yunxing & Gong, Yuanyuan & Song, Yan & Chen, Xiaohui, 2024. "Exploring the impact of digital inclusive finance on consumption volatility: Insights from household entrepreneurship and income volatility," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    14. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Lou, Runchi & Wang, Fuhao, 2023. "Digital financial inclusion and poverty alleviation: Evidence from the sustainable development of China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 418-434.
    15. Qiuyun, Li & Xie, Mingjia & Tang, Yuehuan, 2025. "Do the E-commerce-induced business clusters increase the income of local rural households?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1510-1526.
    16. Li, Bin & Pan, Ya, 2025. "Digital inclusive finance and rural entrepreneurial survival: The moderating role of digital and financial literacy," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 1119-1136.
    17. Yue, Pengpeng & Korkmaz, Aslihan Gizem & Yin, Zhichao & Zhou, Haigang, 2022. "The rise of digital finance: Financial inclusion or debt trap?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PA).
    18. Liu, Sheng & Wei, Xiahai & Du, Yuhong, 2025. "Can rural digital economy mitigate local population outflow: Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    19. Jin, Shunlin & Ma, Teng & Tan, Xinyu, 2024. "Digital financial inclusion and household energy poverty: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 436-456.
    20. Jiang, Youxue, 2024. "Public service equalization, digital financial inclusion and the rural revitalization: Evidence from Chinese 283 prefecture-level cities," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PB).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • R20 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - General
    • D13 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - Household Production and Intrahouse Allocation
    • D31 - Microeconomics - - Distribution - - - Personal Income and Wealth Distribution

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:86:y:2025:i:c:p:363-379. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/economic-analysis-and-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.