IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0313125.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring the coupling coordination relationship and obstacle factors of rural revitalization, new-type urbanization, and digital economy in China

Author

Listed:
  • Yajun Ma
  • Zhengyong Yu
  • Wei Liu
  • Qiang Ren

Abstract

The digital economy injects new vitality into rural revitalization and new-type urbanization to achieve rural industrial transformation, while the countryside and the city provide the soil for the development of the digital economy. This research establishes the rural revitalization (RR), new-type urbanization (NU), and digital economy (DE) system and uses the coupled coordination degree (CCD) model and obstacle degree (OD) model to study the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics and obstacle factors of the composite system in China from 2011 to 2021. The result showed that: (1) the comprehensive development level of the composite systems is on an upward trend year by year, but still shows a low-quality state; (2) the CCD of China’s provinces shows a spatial evolution pattern of high in the east and low in the west; (3) The obstacle factors of the RR, NU, DE subsystem are mainly involved the number of rural doctors and health workers, local financial income per capita and science and technology expenditure, and the digital finance coverage breadth index. These results suggested that Strengthening the synergy between China’s urban-rural integrated development and digital construction in the future hinges upon providing valuable decision-making insights to facilitate the pursuit of regionally differentiated development and the achievement of sustainable development goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Yajun Ma & Zhengyong Yu & Wei Liu & Qiang Ren, 2025. "Exploring the coupling coordination relationship and obstacle factors of rural revitalization, new-type urbanization, and digital economy in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(1), pages 1-30, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0313125
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0313125
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0313125
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0313125&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0313125?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Iqbal Yulizar Mukti & Jörg Henseler & Adina Aldea & Rajesri Govindaraju & Maria E. Iacob, 2022. "Rural smartness: Its determinants and impacts on rural economic welfare," Electronic Markets, Springer;IIM University of St. Gallen, vol. 32(4), pages 1943-1970, December.
    2. Guofu Li & Xiue Zhang, 2023. "The Spatial–Temporal Characteristics and Driving Forces of the Coupled and Coordinated Development between New Urbanization and Rural Revitalization," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(23), pages 1-27, December.
    3. Yang Liu & Yanxiang Xie & Kaiyang Zhong, 2024. "Impact of digital economy on urban sustainable development: Evidence from Chinese cities," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(1), pages 307-324, February.
    4. Jose Manuel Diaz-Sarachaga, 2020. "Combining Participatory Processes and Sustainable Development Goals to Revitalize a Rural Area in Cantabria (Spain)," Land, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-28, October.
    5. Garba, Ifeoluwa & Bellingham, Richard, 2021. "Energy poverty: Estimating the impact of solid cooking fuels on GDP per capita in developing countries - Case of sub-Saharan Africa," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    6. Jianwen Shi & Xiuyun Yang, 2022. "Sustainable Development Levels and Influence Factors in Rural China Based on Rural Revitalization Strategy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-19, July.
    7. Geng, Yuqing & Liu, Liwen & Chen, Lingyan, 2023. "Rural revitalization of China: A new framework, measurement and forecast," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    8. de Clercq, Michaël & D'Haese, Marijke & Buysse, Jeroen, 2023. "Economic growth and broadband access: The European urban-rural digital divide," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(6).
    9. Matthew Thompson, 2019. "Playing with the Rules of the Game: Social Innovation for Urban Transformation," International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(6), pages 1168-1192, November.
    10. Guo, Bingnan & Wang, Yu & Zhang, Hao & Liang, Chunyan & Feng, Yu & Hu, Feng, 2023. "Impact of the digital economy on high-quality urban economic development: Evidence from Chinese cities," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    11. Peng, Zhuangzhuang & Dan, Ting, 2023. "Digital dividend or digital divide? Digital economy and urban-rural income inequality in China," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(9).
    12. Cheng, Shihui & Ma, Wenjing & Luo, Lai & Li, Yunlong, 2023. "Can the development of digital economy improve the quality of regional investment? — Empirical evidence from Chinese cities," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 214-221.
    13. Hosseinpour, Nazanin & Kazemi, Fatemeh & Mahdizadeh, Hassan, 2022. "A cost-benefit analysis of applying urban agriculture in sustainable park design," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Fu, Hongpeng & Guan, Jianxing & Wang, Runzi & Kong, Liangji & Dai, Qinqin, 2024. "How does digitalization affect the urban-rural disparity at different disparity levels: A Bayesian Quantile Regression approach," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    2. Huang, Jie & Lu, Hongyang & Du, Minzhe, 2025. "Can digital economy narrow the regional economic gap? Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    3. Xu, Yuanbin & Wei, Yuan & Zeng, Xin & Yu, Haiqing & Chen, Hongjie, 2024. "Big data development and labor income share: Evidence from China's national big data comprehensive pilot zones," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 1415-1437.
    4. Wang, YiZheng & Zhang, ZhenTian, 2025. "Digital development and rural financial inclusion: Evidence from China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 73(PA).
    5. Liu, Baoliu & Huang, Yujie & Chen, Mengmei & Lan, Zirui, 2024. "Towards sustainability: How does the digital-real integration affect regional green development efficiency?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 42-59.
    6. Miao, Yongming & Li, Yaokuang & Wu, Yanrui, 2024. "Digital economy and economic competitive pressure on local governments: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    7. Guangsi Zhang & Xian Chen & Qiang Hu, 2025. "Can “Characteristic Town” construction protect the rural environment and enhance the rural economy? Perspectives on efficiency improvement and economies of scale," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-11, December.
    8. Zhu, Yifeng & Li, Qinghai, 2025. "Impact of the three digital divides on residents’ commercial insurance purchase behavior: An empirical study based in China," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    9. Xiaojuan Yang & Weiwei Li & Ping Zhang & Hua Chen & Min Lai & Sidong Zhao, 2023. "The Dynamics and Driving Mechanisms of Rural Revitalization in Western China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-26, July.
    10. Zhang, Yulai & Pi, Luxueting & Chen, Yican & Shi, Rui, 2024. "Energy transition policy and Chinese rural revitalization: The roles of industrial upgrading and digital economy," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 69(PA).
    11. Wang, Shucui & Peng, Ting & Du, Anna Min & Lin, Xiaohui, 2025. "The impact of the digital economy on rural industrial revitalization," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    12. Zhongchao Wang & Xinchen Liu & Yaping Qin & Yang Zhang, 2024. "How Rural Digitization Promote Coordinated Urban–Rural Development: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-19, December.
    13. Tiantian Su & Cuixia Li, 2025. "Spatial-temporal characteristics and influence factors of high-quality development of animal husbandry industry in China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 20(2), pages 1-35, February.
    14. Wang, Yizi & Li, Lanyi, 2024. "Digital economy, industrial structure upgrading, and residents' consumption: Empirical evidence from prefecture-level cities in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 1045-1058.
    15. Min Zhao & Qi Chen & Jun Zhang & Qianwen Xu & Peng Li, 2025. "Spatial Characteristics and Factors Influencing the Rural Development Level of Chinese Counties on the Basis of Point Data," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-25, March.
    16. 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.
    17. Guo, Lu & Xiao, Fang, 2024. "Digital economy, aging of the labor force, and employment transformation of migrant workers: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 787-807.
    18. Yulong Jie & Shuigen Hu & Siling Zhu & Lieen Weng, 2024. "How Digitalization and Its Context Affect the Urban–Rural Income Gap: A Configurational Analysis Based on 274 Prefecture-Level Administrative Regions in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-41, December.
    19. Zheng, Mingbo & Zhang, Xinyu, 2025. "Digitalization and renewable energy development: Analysis based on cross-country panel data," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 319(C).
    20. Fu, Shuke & Ge, Yingchen & Hao, Yu & Peng, Jiachao & Tian, Jiali, 2024. "Energy supply chain efficiency in the digital era: Evidence from China's listed companies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).

    More about this item

    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:plo:pone00:0313125. 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: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    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.