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.