Regional unevenness in the construction of digital villages: A case study of China

Abstract

In regard to the comprehensive promotion of rural revitalization, the construction of digital villages is a crucial development. Because the construction of digital villages is considerably novel, the existing studies mainly focus on the theoretical aspects pertaining to the rational and practical robustness of digital villages, and with regard to regional unevenness, the number of studies that consider the current characteristics, absolute gaps, and impact mechanisms pertaining to the construction of digital villages is insufficient. Based on the regional unevenness that characterizes digital village construction, this study proposes a research framework for digital technology-enabled village construction, which integrates three major factors, namely technology, institutions, and human resources; thus, the comprehensive assessment pertaining to the level of digital village construction is enhanced. This study, which applies the aforementioned research framework, constructs an index system for evaluating the construction level of digital villages, and to reveal the characteristics pertaining to regional heterogeneity and the main influencing factors pertaining to the construction level of digital villages in China (study period; 2015–2020), it utilizes the Dagum Gini coefficient method and the spatial econometric model. Consequently, the researchers observe the following: First, the level of digital village construction in China exhibits a “W-shaped” recovery growth. Second, with respect to the regional level, the eastern region exhibits the highest level of digital village construction, followed by central and western regions; furthermore, we observe that the eastern and western regions account for the greatest intra-regional variation, and that with regard to the overall difference, the inter-regional gap represents the main causative factor. Finally, with regard to influencing factors, technology and innovation capabilities, occupational differentiation of farmers, economic development significantly contribute to the level of digital village construction, whereas fiscal autonomy exerts a significant inhibiting effect. In regard to the level of digital village construction, the research framework and results may provide a novel analytical framework for examining the main sources of regional unevenness, and it may also provide a reference for decision-making, which can influence the construction of digital villages in China as well as in other countries.

Evaluation, mechanism and policy implications of the symbiotic relationship among rural digitization, agricultural development and farmer enrichment: evidence from digital village pilots in China

“…County economic scale and stage effects are the underlying drivers of rural digital, agricultural development, and farmers' income growth from the perspective of economic development support, while government intervention and residents' capacity have important impacts on the pilots of digital village at this stage. Based on the findings of related scholars, it is known that X 1 ~X4 is a common indicator to characterize them (Zhao et al, 2021;Li and Wen, 2023). According to social development needs, population is the largest influencing factor.…”

Enhancing Digital Government: A Roadmap for Standardization, Coordination, and Collaboration

“…They have played a normative role by setting the benchmark for various aspects of digital government, ensuring that the systems and services are reliable and efficient. This, in turn, has fostered public trust in digital government services, which is essential for their long-term success [38].…”

Research on the Construction and Measurement of Digital Governance Level System of County Rural Areas in China—Empirical Analysis Based on Entropy Weight TOPSIS Model

“…From a global perspective, although the construction of digital villages in various countries has achieved phased results, it is facing unprecedented difficulties in fully building digital villages and achieving full coverage of digital villages. For example, the infrastructure construction of the digital countryside [5], insufficient technological innovation [6], uncoordinated regional development [7], and lack of close integration between theory and practice [8]. Therefore, for the current crucial digital village construction, we must seize the major historical opportunities brought by digital technology, focus on solving the problems existing in the construction of digital villages, and promote the digital transformation of rural areas.…”