IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i13p5345-d1420671.html

Digital Infrastructure Construction and Improvement of Non-Farm Employment Quality of Rural Labor Force—From the Perspective of Informal Employment

Author

Listed:
  • Wenxin Ding

    (School of Economics and Management, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian 271018, China)

  • Qiang Wu

    (School of Economics and Management, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian 271018, China)

  • Xuanguo Xu

    (School of Public Administration, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian 271018, China)

Abstract

The pivotal role of digital infrastructure as hardware support for fostering economic efficiency in the digital economy is widely acknowledged. However, it begs the question, can the development of digital infrastructure also advance social equity, particularly concerning horizontal equity, as exemplified by the quality of non-farm employment among rural laborers, which serves as a barometer for the fairness and inclusivity of the social opportunity landscape? This article delves into the ramifications of digital infrastructure development on the quality of non-farm employment for rural laborers. Initially, it conducts a theoretical exploration of the impact and mechanisms of digital infrastructure construction on non-farm employment quality within rural labor sectors, drawing upon the Todaro model framework and existing scholarly discourse. Subsequently, by integrating data on digital infrastructure construction at the prefecture-level city level with four periods of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data spanning 2014 to 2020, employing various endogenous treatment methods including two-way fixed effects, sensitivity analysis, and instrumental variable techniques, it empirically tests and analyzes the internal mechanisms. The findings reveal that digital infrastructure construction plays a beneficial role in enhancing the quality of non-farm employment for rural laborers, encompassing both subjective perceptions and objective circumstances of non-farm work. Notably, it is observed that digital infrastructure construction significantly fosters improvements in the quality of informal employment among rural laborers, with notable disparities across gender and skill levels. This discovery exerts a positive influence on advancing the sustainable development of the labor market. Specifically, female rural laborers necessitate higher skill proficiency and educational attainment to attain commensurate benefits as their male counterparts. Moreover, caution is warranted regarding the potential for digital infrastructure construction to exacerbate existing power differentials and widen socioeconomic disparities through the perpetuation of the digital divide.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenxin Ding & Qiang Wu & Xuanguo Xu, 2024. "Digital Infrastructure Construction and Improvement of Non-Farm Employment Quality of Rural Labor Force—From the Perspective of Informal Employment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-24, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:13:p:5345-:d:1420671
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/13/5345/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/13/5345/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Francesca Ceglia & Elisa Marrasso & Chiara Martone & Giovanna Pallotta & Carlo Roselli & Maurizio Sasso, 2023. "Towards the Decarbonization of Industrial Districts through Renewable Energy Communities: Techno-Economic Feasibility of an Italian Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-23, March.
    2. Jonasson, Erik & Helfand, Steven M., 2010. "How Important are Locational Characteristics for Rural Non-agricultural Employment? Lessons from Brazil," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 38(5), pages 727-741, May.
    3. Timothy J. Bartik, 2006. "How Do the Effects of Local Growth on Employment Rates Vary With Initial Labor Market Conditions," Upjohn Working Papers 09-148, W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research.
    4. Jayne, T.S. & Chamberlin, Jordan & Headey, Derek D., 2014. "Land pressures, the evolution of farming systems, and development strategies in Africa: A synthesis," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 1-17.
    5. Francesca Ceglia & Elisa Marrasso & Giovanna Pallotta & Carlo Roselli & Maurizio Sasso, 2022. "The State of the Art of Smart Energy Communities: A Systematic Review of Strengths and Limits," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-28, May.
    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. 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.
    2. Qiong Wu & Chenyujing Yang & Xiaomeng Liang & Yongji Xue, 2026. "Exploring the influencing factors and applying practices for the coordinated integration of digital economy and agricultural systems: evidence from China," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 10(1), pages 1-36, March.

    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. Marrasso, E. & Martone, C. & Pallotta, G. & Roselli, C. & Sasso, M., 2024. "Assessment of energy systems configurations in mixed-use Positive Energy Districts through novel indicators for energy and environmental analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 368(C).
    2. Derek Headey & David Stifel & Liangzhi You & Zhe Guo, 2018. "Remoteness, urbanization, and child nutrition in sub‐Saharan Africa," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 49(6), pages 765-775, November.
    3. Chloé Duvivier Duvivier & Mary-Françoise Renard & Shi Li, 2012. "Are workers close to cities paid higher non-agricultural wages in rural China?," CERDI Working papers halshs-00673698, HAL.
    4. Hou, Mengyang & Xie, Yalin & Lu, Weinan & Cui, Xuehua & Xi, Zenglei & Han, Yuxin, 2025. "Green finance drives the synergy of pollution control and carbon reduction in China: Dual perspective of effect and efficiency," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 330(C).
    5. Yang Shen & Xiuwu Zhang, 2022. "Study on the Impact of Environmental Tax on Industrial Green Transformation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-18, December.
    6. Ahmed Y. Hatata & Mohamed A. Essa & Bishoy E. Sedhom, 2022. "Implementation and Design of FREEDM System Differential Protection Method Based on Internet of Things," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-24, August.
    7. Chamberlin, J. & Sitko, N. & Jayne, T., 2018. "Rural-Rural Migration, Land and Labor Markets in Zambia," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277404, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    8. Alobo Loison, Sarah & Hillbom, Ellen, 2020. "Regional evidence of smallholder-based growth in Zambia’s livestock sector," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 19(C).
    9. Baoling Zou & Biliang Luo, 2018. "Why the Uncertain Term Occurs in the Farmland Lease Market: Evidence from Rural China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-15, August.
    10. Falconnier, Gatien N. & Descheemaeker, Katrien & Traore, Bouba & Bayoko, Arouna & Giller, Ken E., 2018. "Agricultural intensification and policy interventions: Exploring plausible futures for smallholder farmers in Southern Mali," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 623-634.
    11. Tomich, Thomas P. & Lidder, Preetmoninder & Coley, Mariah & Gollin, Douglas & Meinzen-Dick, Ruth & Webb, Patrick & Carberry, Peter, 2019. "Food and agricultural innovation pathways for prosperity," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 1-15.
    12. Yang, Fei & Liu, Kang & Wu, Lei & Ren, Yi & Liang, Tian, 2025. "Urban geometry and energy efficiency: Evidence from 282 cities in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 319(C).
    13. Shyamsundar, Priya & Ahlroth, Sofia & Kristjanson, Patricia & Onder, Stefanie, 2020. "Supporting pathways to prosperity in forest landscapes – A PRIME framework," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    14. Sitko, Nicholas J. & Chamberlin, Jordan & Hichaambwa, Munguzwe, 2015. "The Geography of Customary Land in Zambia: Is Development Strategy Engaging With The Facts?," Food Security Collaborative Working Papers 211222, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    15. Xiaoyu Sun & Weijing Zhu & Aili Chen & Gangqiao Yang, 2022. "Land Certificated Program and Farmland “Stickiness” of Rural Labor: Based on the Perspective of Land Production Function," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-24, September.
    16. Alex Zizinga & Jackson Gilbert Majaliwa Mwanjalolo & Britta Tietjen & Bobe Bedadi & Ramon Amaro de Sales & Dennis Beesigamukama, 2022. "Simulating Maize Productivity under Selected Climate Smart Agriculture Practices Using AquaCrop Model in a Sub-humid Environment," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(4), pages 1-17, February.
    17. David Tschirley & Nicolas Bricas & Christine Sauer & Thomas Reardon, 2020. "Opportunities in Africa's growing urban food markets," Post-Print hal-05176812, HAL.
    18. Jayne, T.S. & Chamberlin, Jordan & Traub, Lulama & Sitko, N. & Muyanga, Milu & Yeboah, Kwame & Nkonde, Chewe & Anseeuw, Ward & Chapoto, A. & Kachule, Richard, 2015. "Africa’s Changing Farmland Ownership: Causes and Consequences," Miscellaneous Publications 208576, Michigan State University, Department of Agricultural, Food, and Resource Economics.
    19. Kimhi, Ayal & Sarit Menahem-Carmi, 2017. "Does rural household income depend on neighboring urban centers?Evidence from Israel," Review of Applied Socio-Economic Research, Pro Global Science Association, vol. 13(1), pages 26-35, JUNE.
    20. Joseph Ikechukwu Uduji & Elda Nduka Okolo‐Obasi, 2023. "Gender equity and land: The role of corporate social responsibility in Niger Delta, Nigeria," Journal of International Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 35(6), pages 1216-1238, August.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    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:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:13:p:5345-:d:1420671. 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.