Research On The Impact Of Digital Economy On Urban-Rural Income Gap In The Yangtze River Economic Belt

Since the reform and opening up,the overall income level of urban and rural residents in China has significantly improved,and the quality of life has greatly improved.The urban-rural income ratio reached 3.12 in 2003 and decreased to 2.44 in2022,a decrease of 21.8% compared to 2003.Although the overall trend of widening urban-rural income gap in China has been significantly suppressed,the issue of urban-rural income gap remains prominent.In the era of pursuing common prosperity,exploring new ways to narrow the urban-rural income gap is conducive to achieving fair social income distribution and easing the structural contradiction between urban and rural areas.With the development of the digital economy,the products and services of traditional industries have been structurally upgraded.As a new economic form,the development potential of the digital economy is enormous and has become an important component of the national development strategy.At the same time,in order to alleviate the urban-rural dual structure and narrow the urban-rural income gap.On the one hand,it is necessary to continue to promote the construction of a new type of urbanization with a human centered approach,promote industrial digitization,improve resource utilization efficiency,improve labor productivity,and drive urban residents’ income growth.On the other hand,it is necessary to accelerate the development of modern agriculture,promote modern agricultural technology,promote rural revitalization,and achieve increased income for farmers.This article explores the impact mechanism of the digital economy on narrowing the urban-rural income gap based on existing literature and relevant theories.Using data from 108 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2011 to 2019,this study calculates the digital economy index and the Thiel index of urban-rural income gap within the sample interval.It analyzes the evolution characteristics of the digital economy and urban-rural income gap in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from both time and space dimensions,and uses methods such as spatial measurement to empirically test the relationship between the digital economy and urban-rural income gap,and explore its impact mechanism.The main research conclusions include: firstly,the digital economy development in the Yangtze River Economic Belt has significantly increased,and the urban-rural income gap measured by the Thiel Index is continuously narrowing.Secondly,the digital economy has a significant promoting effect on narrowing the urban-rural income gap,and there is a spatial spillover effect.Meanwhile,in the Yangtze River Economic Belt region,the impact of digital economy on urban-rural income gap shows significant heterogeneity in both temporal and spatial dimensions.Third,through digital transformation,rural areas can significantly play a latecomer advantage,improve the sales volume of agricultural products and marginal revenue,and help to narrow the income gap between rural and urban areas.Urbanization plays a mediating role in the impact of the digital economy on narrowing the urban-rural income gap,and urbanization has a significant nonlinear threshold effect in this impact process.Finally,based on theoretical analysis and empirical conclusions,targeted countermeasures and suggestions are proposed to narrow the urban-rural income gap in the digital economy.