How Can Digital Villages Improve Basic Public Services Delivery in Rural Areas? Evidence from 1840 Counties in China

Digital transformation is spreading from urban to rural areas, and the construction of digital villages has become a key growth point for rural sustainable development globally. Digital villages improve the level of basic public services delivery in rural areas via the penetration of digital technol...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Agriculture (Basel) 2024-10, Vol.14 (10), p.1802
Main Authors: Mao, Zijun, Zhu, Xiyue, Zou, Qi, Jin, Wen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
basic public services
China
Communication
Digital divide
digital inclusion
digital services
Digital technology
digital villages
Economic development
Empirical analysis
Federal government
Heterogeneity
Infrastructure
Innovations
Internet access
Poverty
Public participation
Public schools
Public services
Regions
Rural areas
Rural development
Service enhancement
Social change
Social service
Sparsely populated areas
Sustainable development
Technology and civilization
Towns
Villages
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Summary:Digital transformation is spreading from urban to rural areas, and the construction of digital villages has become a key growth point for rural sustainable development globally. Digital villages improve the level of basic public services delivery in rural areas via the penetration of digital technology. However, few studies have empirically investigated the theoretical mechanisms underlying the impact of digital villages on various aspects of rural basic public services. To address these gaps, this study investigates the impact mechanisms of digital villages on rural basic public services delivery in terms of accessibility, equity, agility, holistic nature and participation. Using 1840 counties in China as the research sample, this study applies the entropy method to extract a composite index of basic public services and performs correlation, regression, and heterogeneity analyses to examine the effects of digital villages on basic public services delivery. Empirical analysis results show that the construction of digital villages is positively associated with the level of basic public services in rural areas. Meanwhile, heterogeneity analysis results confirms that this relationship is mainly observed in eastern counties but not observed in central and western counties. These findings provide a basis for using digital inclusion to improve basic public services delivery in rural areas and achieve balanced development across regions.
ISSN:2077-0472
2077-0472
DOI:10.3390/agriculture14101802