Educational Attainment,Internet Use And Rural Residents’ Income

Improving farmers’ income is the top priority of China’s “agriculture,rural areas,and farmers” work.Since the reform and opening-up policy,China’s economy has developed rapidly,comprehensive national strength has continued to increase,and people’s living standards and quality of life have greatly improved.However,compared with urban residents,rural residents’ income is still lower,and the income gap between urban and rural areas remains large.Income inequality has gradually become a severe problem that hinder s China’s socio-economic development.The report of the 20 th National Congress of the Communist Party of China pointed out that in the process of realizing the two-step modernization of China,agriculture,rural areas,and farmers are the critical foundation,and the task of “agriculture,rural areas,and farmers” is arduous.At the same time,the report puts forward more specific and clear key tasks to do well in “agriculture,rural areas,and farmers”: to develop characteristic industries in rural areas and broaden the channels for farmers to increase their income and become prosperous.There are many factors that affect farmers’ income levels,and education is one of the key factors.Improving the education level of rural residents and further strengthening the accumulation of rural human capital can effectively drive farmers’ income growth.In recent years,with the rapid development of the Chinese economy,education has had an increasingly significant impact on farmers’ income.At the same time,people’s lifestyles and production methods have undergone significant transformations due to the swift proliferation of the internet in rural regions.The integration of the internet and various industries has not only expanded people’s access to knowledge and wealth but also affected people’s daily behaviors and habits,providing new opportunities for the economic development of rural areas.The use of the internet in rural areas is not only related to the well-being of farmers but also an important tool for increasing rural income.Based on the above background,this study analyzed the microdata of the 2018 Chinese Family Tracking Survey,first sorted out and summarized the existing domestic and foreign literature and based on the relevant theoretical foundations to determine the mechanism of the impact of education level and internet usage on farmers’ income.Secondly,the study empirically tested the impact of education level on farmers’ income and its pathways using methods such as the least squares method,instrumental variable method,quantile regression method,and mediation effect model.Finally,based on the conclusions,policy suggestions were put forward to promote further development of education and the internet in rural areas to promote farmers’ income growth.The main findings of the study are as follows:(1)The education level has a significant positive impact on farmers’ income,and the higher the education level of farmers,the higher their income level.(2)The impact of education level on farmers’ income varies among different genders,regions,and income groups of farmers.Specifically,in the eastern region,the impact of farmers’ education level on personal income is smaller than that in the central and western regions;in rural areas,the impact of education level on female income is higher than that on male income;education level contributes to the income growth of all income groups,but there are differences in the trend of the marginal contribution to each income group,showing a “reverse U-shaped” trend of “low on both ends,high in the middle.”Comparing the education rate of return of each income group,it is found that the data for the middle-income group is higher,indicating that education level has a greater impact on the income growth of the middle-income group,and the impact is most significant on the low and middle-income groups.(3)Internet use plays an intermediary role in the process of the impact of education level on farmers’ income,i.e.education level affects the probability of using the internet,which in turn affects farmers’ income levels.Compared with the existing literature,this paper discusses the relationship between education level,Internet use and farmers’ income from the perspective of Internet use,which is a new perspective,and integrates the three into the same analytical framework,so as to explore whether Internet use has an intermediary role in the process of education level affecting farmers’ income,which can provide micro empirical evidence for farmers’ income increase.