IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i2p1289-d1030741.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Internet Use and the Poverty Vulnerability of Rural Households: From the Perspective of Risk Response

Author

Listed:
  • Shasha Zhang

    (College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China)

  • Qian Liu

    (Quality Supervision Office, Hebei Open University, Shijiazhuang 050080, China)

  • Xungang Zheng

    (College of Management, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu 611130, China)

  • Juan Sun

    (School of Finance, Pass College of Chongqing Technology and Business University, Hechuan, Chongqing 401520, China)

Abstract

Alleviating the poverty vulnerability of rural households helps to resist risk shocks and maintain livelihood security. From a risk-response-ability and -strategy perspective, this paper constructs a theoretical analysis framework for the impact of internet use on the poverty vulnerability of rural households using data from the 2018 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) to conduct an empirical analysis. The results show that internet use has a significant impact on alleviating the poverty vulnerability of rural households. After a robustness test using the IV-probit two-step method, the results remained robust and reliable. When viewed from a regional perspective, the impact of internet use on the poverty vulnerability of rural households is reduced in the regions with a lower risk of poverty and higher use of the internet. An analysis of the influence mechanism shows that risk-response ability represented by human capital, social capital, and selfefficacy and risk-response strategy represented by nonagricultural employment and commercial insurance participation have a significant mediating effect between internet use and the poverty vulnerability of rural households. Therefore, based on improving network infrastructure, the government should guide rural households to improve their risk-response ability and implement risk-response strategies to prevent them from falling into poverty in the future.

Suggested Citation

  • Shasha Zhang & Qian Liu & Xungang Zheng & Juan Sun, 2023. "Internet Use and the Poverty Vulnerability of Rural Households: From the Perspective of Risk Response," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-17, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:2:p:1289-:d:1030741
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/2/1289/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/2/1289/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Yumei Zhang & Mateusz J. Filipski & Kevin Z. Chen, 2019. "Health Insurance And Medical Impoverishment In Rural China: Evidence From Guizhou Province," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(03), pages 727-745, June.
    2. Jinmian Han & Jiaqi Wang & Xiaoqiang Ma, 2019. "Effects of Farmers’ Participation in Inclusive Finance on Their Vulnerability to Poverty: Evidence from Qinba Poverty-Stricken Area in China," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(5), pages 998-1013, April.
    3. Michael Carter & Christopher Barrett, 2006. "The economics of poverty traps and persistent poverty: An asset-based approach," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(2), pages 178-199.
    4. Muhammad Masood Azeem & Amin W. Mugera & Steven Schilizzi, 2019. "Do Social Protection Transfers Reduce Poverty and Vulnerability to Poverty in Pakistan? Household Level Evidence from Punjab," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(8), pages 1757-1783, August.
    5. 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.
    6. Xue Wang & Guangwen He, 2020. "Digital Financial Inclusion and Farmers’ Vulnerability to Poverty: Evidence from Rural China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-18, February.
    7. Moser, Caroline O. N., 1998. "The asset vulnerability framework: Reassessing urban poverty reduction strategies," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 26(1), pages 1-19, January.
    8. Hernan Galperin & M. Fernanda Viecens, 2017. "Connected for Development? Theory and evidence about the impact of Internet technologies on poverty alleviation," Development Policy Review, Overseas Development Institute, vol. 35(3), pages 315-336, May.
    9. Cyn-Young Park & Rogelio V. Mercado, 2016. "Does Financial Inclusion Reduce Poverty and Income Inequality in Developing Asia?," Palgrave Studies in Impact Finance, in: Sasidaran Gopalan & Tomoo Kikuchi (ed.), Financial Inclusion in Asia, chapter 3, pages 61-92, Palgrave Macmillan.
    10. Cunming Zou & Jianzhi Liu & Bencheng Liu & Xuhan Zheng & Yangang Fang, 2019. "Evaluating Poverty Alleviation by Relocation under the Link Policy: A Case Study from Tongyu County, Jilin Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-20, September.
    11. Guimin Zhang & Xiangling Wu & Ke Wang, 2022. "Research on the Impact and Mechanism of Internet Use on the Poverty Vulnerability of Farmers in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(9), pages 1-16, April.
    12. Mora-Rivera, Jorge & García-Mora, Fernando, 2021. "Internet access and poverty reduction: Evidence from rural and urban Mexico," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(2).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Shunbin Zhong & Mengding Li & Yihui Liu & Yun Bai, 2023. "Do Internet Development and Urbanization Foster Regional Economic Growth: Evidence from China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-14, June.

    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. Phan, Van-Phuc, 2023. "Is the internet penetration pro-poor? Evidence from a panel data analysis," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(8).
    2. Dzator, Janet & Acheampong, Alex O. & Appiah-Otoo, Isaac & Dzator, Michael, 2023. "Leveraging digital technology for development: Does ICT contribute to poverty reduction?," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(4).
    3. Nguyen, Trung Thanh & Nguyen, Thanh-Tung & Grote, Ulrike, 2022. "Internet use, natural resource extraction and poverty reduction in rural Thailand," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    4. Pengju Liu & Yitong Zhang & Shengqi Zhou, 2023. "Has Digital Financial Inclusion Narrowed the Urban–Rural Income Gap? A Study of the Spatial Influence Mechanism Based on Data from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-20, February.
    5. 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.
    6. Thanh‐Tung Nguyen & Trung Thanh Nguyen & Ulrike Grote, 2023. "Internet use and agricultural productivity in rural Vietnam," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 1309-1326, August.
    7. Lan, Xiao & Zhang, Qin & Xue, Haili & Liang, Haoguang & Wang, Bojie & Wang, Weijun, 2021. "Linking sustainable livelihoods with sustainable grassland use and conservation: A case study from rural households in a semi-arid grassland area, China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    8. Bo Yang & Xiangnan Wang & Tong Wu & Weihua Deng, 2023. "Reducing farmers' poverty vulnerability in China: The role of digital financial inclusion," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 27(3), pages 1445-1480, August.
    9. Savath, Vivien & Fletschner, Diana & Peterman, Amber & Santos, Florence, 2014. "Land, assets, and livelihoods: Gendered analysis of evidence from Odisha State in India:," IFPRI discussion papers 1323, International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI).
    10. Trung Thanh Nguyen & Manh Hung Do, 2022. "Female rural–urban migrants and online marketplaces in emerging economies: Evidence from Thailand and Vietnam," Asia and the Pacific Policy Studies, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 9(3), pages 317-342, September.
    11. 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.
    12. Swati Dutta & Lakshmi Kumar, 2013. "Poverty Dynamics in Rural India: An Asset-Based Approach," Margin: The Journal of Applied Economic Research, National Council of Applied Economic Research, vol. 7(4), pages 475-506, November.
    13. Carmen Diana Deere & Gina E. Alvarado & Jennifer Twyman, 2012. "Gender Inequality in Asset Ownership in Latin America: Female Owners vs Household Heads," Development and Change, International Institute of Social Studies, vol. 43(2), pages 505-530, March.
    14. Hill, Ruth Vargas & Porter, Catherine, 2017. "Vulnerability to Drought and Food Price Shocks: Evidence from Ethiopia," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 65-77.
    15. Giesbert, Lena & Schindler, Kati, 2012. "Assets, Shocks, and Poverty Traps in Rural Mozambique," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 40(8), pages 1594-1609.
    16. Khosla, Sunil & Jena, Pradyot Ranjan & Rahut, Dil Bahadur, 2023. "Can rural livelihood programs enhance capabilities and reduce vulnerability to poverty? Evidence from a tribal region of eastern India," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 85-98.
    17. Nawab Khan & Ram L. Ray & Hazem S. Kassem & Farhat Ullah Khan & Muhammad Ihtisham & Shemei Zhang, 2022. "Does the Adoption of Mobile Internet Technology Promote Wheat Productivity? Evidence from Rural Farmers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(13), pages 1-15, June.
    18. Saeed, Muhammad Kashif & Hayat, Muhammad Azmat, 2020. "The Impact of Social Cash Transfers on Poverty in Pakistan-A Case Study of Benazir Income Support Programme," MPRA Paper 99805, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    19. Trung Thanh Nguyen & Manh Hung Do & Dil B. Rahut & Viet Hung Nguyen & Panharoth Chhay, 2023. "Female leadership, internet use, and performance of agricultural cooperatives in Vietnam," Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 94(3), pages 877-903, September.
    20. Trung Thanh Nguyen & Manh Hung Do, 2022. "Female migrants and online market participation in rural Southeast Asia," TVSEP Working Papers wp-026, Leibniz Universitaet Hannover, Institute of Development and Agricultural Economics, Project TVSEP.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:2:p:1289-:d:1030741. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.