Can digital rural construction improve household food security? Evidence from rural China

With the rapid digitalization of rural areas, its effects have been widely studied in terms of economic returns and lifestyle changes, yet little is known about whether and to what extent it affects household food security. Using data from rural China for the period 2019 ‐ 2020, this study examines the causal effect of digital rural construction on household food security. Food security is measured using the Chinese Healthy Eating Index and the Diet Balance Index. The results show that digital rural construction significantly improves household food security, with stronger effects among high‐income households. We further explore two potential mechanisms: dietary availability and household engagement with online dietary and health information. The findings suggest that digital rural construction significantly improves dietary availability, while its effect on online information engagement is not statistically significant. Moreover, we examine the effects of different dimensions of digital rural construction and find that rural life digitalization exerts the strongest influence on household food security. Overall, the evidence implies that advancing digital rural development can serve as an effective policy instrument to strengthen household food security in rural areas of developing countries.