Exploring the digital divide–poverty link: Roles of education and family dependency

This research investigates how the digital divide influences relative poverty in Chinese households, with particular attention to the moderating roles of educational attainment and household dependency ratios. Using logistic regression analysis on data from the China Family Panel Studies, we construct a comprehensive Digital Divide Index measuring both internet access and usage patterns across multiple domains. Our findings demonstrate that digital exclusion significantly increases the probability of relative poverty, with this relationship varying substantially based on household characteristics. Education serves as a protective buffer, reducing the digital divide's negative impact on poverty outcomes, while higher dependency ratios—reflecting greater burdens of non-working family members—amplify the digital divide's harmful effects on household economic wellbeing. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that low-income and less-educated households face disproportionately severe consequences from digital exclusion, with effect sizes substantially larger than their advantaged counterparts. These patterns persist across multiple robustness checks, including instrumental variable analysis using regional internet penetration rates and alternative poverty thresholds. The results highlight that digital inclusion policies must extend beyond mere technology access to address the complex interplay between digital capabilities, human capital, and family structure. Effective poverty reduction strategies in China's digital economy require targeted interventions that consider educational contexts and household compositions, particularly for vulnerable populations facing multiple disadvantages in accessing and utilizing digital technologies for economic advancement.