Advances in Management and Applied Economics

Internet Development, Population Aging and Urban-rural Income Gap: An Empirical Analysis Based on Provinces in China

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• Abstract

   

  This study utilizes panel data from Chinese provinces spanning 2013 to 2021 to establish a comprehensive evaluation index system for the level of Internet development. It investigates the impact of Internet development and its sub-dimensions on the urban-rural income gap and further examines the moderating effect of population aging. The findings suggest that Internet development can significantly improve the urban-rural income gap by increasing the farm and non-farm incomes of rural residents. Specifically, from a sub-dimension perspective, Internet infrastructure, commercial scale, and development potential play significant roles in narrowing the income gap, with substantial effects observed. Moreover, considering regional heterogeneity, the narrowing effect of the Internet on the urban-rural income gap in the Northeast, Central, and Western regions is significant and roughly equivalent, surpassing that of the Eastern region. Population aging leads to synchronous changes in the age structure of Internet users; the "silver-haired digital divide" impedes the elderly population's access to and use of the Internet, thereby inhibiting the shrinking effect of Internet development on the urban-rural income gap. Further investigation reveals that the imbalance in the urban-rural population aging process, with the degree of rural aging outpacing urban areas, is a significant factor contributing to this inhibitory effect.

   

  Keywords: Urban-rural Income Gap, Internet development, Population Aging, Moderating effect.