The Digitalization of Rural Industries and Comprehensive Rural Revitalization in China : A Gravity Model Approach

Abstract

This research aims to innovatively use the gravity mode research methodology to verify the impact of digitalization of rural industries and its four variables (digital facilities, digital applications, digital management and digital industry data) on comprehensive rural revitalization, and to analyse the mediating role of rural technology acceptance in it, to verify the moderating role of rural policy intervention in the relationship between rural technology acceptance and comprehensive rural revitalization, and explore the role of regional distance in the relationship between digitization of the agricultural industry and comprehensive rural revitalization. In order to verify the relationship between the variables, this research adopts the gravity model log-linear regression method to analyze the regression model construction and influence path analysis of the influencing factors affecting the digitalization of the rural industry and comprehensive rural revitalization, and selects the rural regional panel data of 30 provinces within China for the period of 2010-2023 (14 years) as the sample of the empirical analysis, and uses the Stata, SPSS and other data analysis tools, through the scatter plot variable relationship analysis, univariate normal distribution test, Hausman model test, correlation analysis, cell test, homoskedasticity test, etc., to comprehensively assess the reliability and validity of the data, and use the gravitational model of the logarithmic linear regression model to establish a direct effect, mediating effect and moderating effect model to analyze and test the research hypotheses.

The results of the research are described as follows: first, the four aspects of digitalization of rural industries, i.e., digital rural facilities, digital applications, digital management, and digital industries, have a significant positive effect on comprehensive rural revitalization. The overall digitalization index is positively associated with the comprehensive rural revitalization index at a statistically significant level of 1% (p < 0.01), with an estimated coefficient of 0.437. Second, rural technology acceptance partially mediates between the three dimensions of digital infrastructure, digital management, and digital industry of rural industries and comprehensive rural revitalization, while rural technology acceptance fully mediates between digital applications of rural industries and comprehensive rural revitalization. Rural policy intervention was found to positively mediate the relationship between rural technology acceptance and comprehensive rural revitalization, with a coefficient of 1.037 (p < 0.01). Unexpected finding: the impact of regional distance in the digitalization of rural industries and comprehensive rural revitalization, with a weak negative moderating effect (β = - 0.356, p = 0.204).

Integrating the research results suggests that (1) enhancing the digitalization of rural industries can contribute to the realization of comprehensive rural revitalization. For instance, digital industries show the strongest individual impact, with a coefficient of 1.336 (p < 0.01). (2) by increasing the rural technology acceptance, it can also further contribute to the realization of comprehensive rural revitalization. The estimated coefficient for technology acceptance in the rural revitalization model is 0.125 (p < 0.05). (3) rural policy interventions play a significant moderating role in the process of rural revitalization of the digital industry, and optimizing the rural policy interventions can enhance the rural technology acceptance on comprehensive rural revitalization. However, rural policy intervention itself has a significant negative direct effect on comprehensive rural revitalization (β = -0.304, p < 0.05). (4) Regional distance has a weak positive moderating effect on the digitalization of rural industries and comprehensive rural revitalization, which challenges the traditional geo-economic theory of "Distance Decay," indicating that digitization may be changing the geographical constraints of rural development. For every 100 km increase in distance, the effect of digitalization on rural revitalization increases by approximately 3.5%. This suggests that digitalization may be changing the geographical constraints of rural development, and further suggests that the effects of digitalization on rural revitalization are more challenging in more distant areas. The research suggests that policymakers should pay attention to the constraints of regional distance on the promotion of digitization and formulate targeted policy measures to narrow the digitization gap between regions and promote the goal of comprehensive rural revitalization.

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