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Digital inclusion, transaction costs, and rural revitalization industrialization: Evidence from rural e-commerce clusters in China

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  • Huang, Luyan
  • Cao, Zhan
  • Liu, Dongxun

Abstract

Based on panel data from 2007 to 2023 on regions in China with rural e-commerce clusters, this paper investigates the relationship among digital inclusion, transaction costs, and the industrialization of rural revitalization. The results indicate that, first, digital inclusion promotes the industrialization of rural revitalization; second, transaction costs exert a significant inhibitory effect on the industrialization of rural revitalization, specifically in that increases in information acquisition costs and transportation costs both impede the industrialization process. Furthermore, by introducing transaction costs as a mediating variable, the study finds that transaction costs partially mediate the impact of digital inclusion on the industrialization of rural revitalization, with both information acquisition costs and transportation costs serving as mediating pathways.

Suggested Citation

  • Huang, Luyan & Cao, Zhan & Liu, Dongxun, 2025. "Digital inclusion, transaction costs, and rural revitalization industrialization: Evidence from rural e-commerce clusters in China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 86(PF).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:86:y:2025:i:pf:s1544612325020641
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2025.108810
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    References listed on IDEAS

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