Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Introduction With the widespread application of digital technologies such as big data and cloud computing in agriculture and rural areas, digital village construction has become a key initiative for promoting agricultural modernization and rural revitalization. Understanding how this process reshapes rural population mobility is therefore essential. This paper examines the impact of digital rural construction on rural residents’ migration decisions and identifies the underlying mechanisms. Methods We match household-level data from the 2020 China Rural Revitalization Survey (CRRS) with the county-level Digital Rural Index developed by Peking University, and estimate Logit models of the out-migration decision. A comprehensive battery of robustness checks is conducted, including alternative estimation models, sample restriction, exclusion of policy confounding, replacement of the core explanatory and dependent variables, omitted variable tests, and instrumental variable approaches. Mechanism and heterogeneity analyses are then performed. Results Digital rural construction significantly inhibits rural population out-migration, and this finding remains robust across all checks. The inhibitory effect is transmitted primarily through two mechanisms: encouraging non-agricultural business participation and expanding the scale of rural industries. The substitution effect arising from improved land resource allocation efficiency is weaker than the labor release effect of land transfer. The effect is more pronounced in eastern and western regions, among part-time farming and non-agricultural households, in non-mountainous areas, and among labor force groups aged 40 and above with junior secondary education or below. Digital rural construction also increases both the non-agricultural business income and the wage income of rural households. Discussion By uncovering the specific pathways and group-level heterogeneity through which digital village construction shapes migration decisions at the micro level, this study provides empirical evidence and policy implications for leveraging digitalization to promote local rural employment and advance urban–rural integrated development.
Authors: Deshan Li, Shuangqiang Li, Fengming Li
Language: English
Subfield: Strategy and Management
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,353
OpenAlex ID: W7214148499