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How the Rural Digital Economy Drives Rural Industrial Revitalization—Case Study of China’s 30 Provinces

Author

Listed:
  • Ye Tian

    (College of Economics & Management, Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China)

  • Qin Liu

    (College of Economics & Management, Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China
    College of Truism & Education, Hubei Three Gorges Polytechnic, Yichang 443000, China)

  • Yiting Ye

    (College of Economics & Management, Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China)

  • Zhaofang Zhang

    (Center of International Cooperation Service, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing 100125, China)

  • Ribesh Khanal

    (College of Economics & Management, Three Gorges University, Yichang 443002, China)

Abstract

The Chinese government is implementing a rural revitalization strategy and speeding up rural modernization. The rapid development of the rural digital economy has become a new driving force for the revitalization of rural industries. By analyzing how rural industrial revitalization is driven by the rural digital economy, this study constructs a rural digital economy from the three dimensions of optimal allocation of rural resource elements, the effective connection of urban–rural markets, and the integrated development of rural industries. The entropy value method was used to assess the comprehensive level of development of the rural digital economy and industrial revitalization. Based on the agricultural and rural development data of 30 provinces in China from 2014 to 2019, we construct a dual fixed effect model to empirically analyze how the rural digital economy drives rural industrial revitalization. The results show that, first, the rural digital economy promotes the revitalization of rural industries through the following main approaches: optimal allocation and utilization of rural resources, effective connection of urban–rural markets, and industrial integration development. Second, using the benchmark regression test, it can be concluded that if the development level of the rural digital economy is increased by 1 percent, the development of rural industrial revitalization will increase by 0.066 percent, indicating that the development of the rural digital economy can significantly drive the revitalization of rural industries. Third, the driving effect of the rural digital economy on the revitalization of rural industries is heterogeneous in different regions and industrial structures. The effect of the rural digital economy on the revitalization of rural industries in the western region, the region with a high proportion of the output value of the primary industry, is higher than in the east and central regions, which have a low proportion of the output value of the primary industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Ye Tian & Qin Liu & Yiting Ye & Zhaofang Zhang & Ribesh Khanal, 2023. "How the Rural Digital Economy Drives Rural Industrial Revitalization—Case Study of China’s 30 Provinces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-18, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:8:p:6923-:d:1127964
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Xia Zhao & Jingjing Yang, 2025. "How Artificial Intelligence Empowers Rural Industrial Revitalization: A Case Study of Hebei Province," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-27, August.
    2. Liu Fengqin & Kumar Jai & Sun Huaping & Edziah Bless Kofi, 2025. "Harnessing the Digital Economy for Sustainable Energy Efficiency: An Empirical Analysis of China’s Yangtze River Delta," Economics - The Open-Access, Open-Assessment Journal, De Gruyter, vol. 19(1), pages 1-15.
    3. Muziyun Liu & Hui Liu, 2024. "The Influence and Mechanism of Digital Village Construction on the Urban–Rural Income Gap under the Goal of Common Prosperity," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-20, May.
    4. Lulin Liu & Xiaojie Ma & Yaolong Li, 2025. "Does New Infrastructure Promote the Development of Rural Industries? A Nonlinear Analysis Based on Provincial Panel Data from China," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-26, May.
    5. Yuansheng Wang & Huarui Wu & Cheng Chen & Gongming Wang, 2025. "A Review and Design of Semantic-Level Feature Spatial Representation and Resource Spatiotemporal Mapping for Socialized Service Resources in Rural Characteristic Industries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-23, September.
    6. Yupan Zhao & Xiaofeng Zhao & Jielun Yang, 2024. "Coupling Coordination and Influencing Factors Between Digital Village Development and Agricultural and Rural Modernization: Evidence from China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-23, October.
    7. Hongbi Peng & Feng Yang & Ou Yue, 2024. "How Rural Industry Revitalization Affects Farmers’ Incomes in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(21), pages 1-19, October.

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