The Three-Dimensional Analytical and Governance Logic of China’s Digital Divide Bridging Policy

Abstract

In the digital era, digital technology enables political, economic and social fields. However, while the digital divide is pervasive due to the influence of population, geography, the economy and other factors, blindly pushing digital change often leads to the further expansion of the risks of social inequality. This paper constructed a three-dimensional analytical framework of digital gap-bridging policies from the perspective of policy objectives, policy tools and policy effectiveness. Based on this framework, this paper used the content analysis method to conduct a quantitative analysis of 81 digital gap-bridging policies published in China and selected the PMC index model for policy evaluation. The result shows that the policy goal of bridging the digital divide in China mainly focuses on bridging the material access gap and the technology gap, while inadequate attention was paid to the attitude gap and the use gap; in terms of policy tools, there exists an unbalanced situation regarding supply tools, environment and demand tools, with the first one being emphasized more than the others; there is still policy “fatigue” regarding weak feedback and less incentive, though the internal consistency level of the policy is good and the policy structure is reasonable. Therefore, we should optimize policy objectives and policy tools to bridge the digital divide. We should not only consider whether there is “or not” on the equipment and whether there is “or not” on the technology, but also consider whether we want to “or not” on the attitude and feel “or not” on the use; we should not only “give” unilaterally through supply-oriented policies but also “cooperate” with each other through demand-oriented and environment-oriented tools to release the maximum potential of digital empowerment.