Abstract:
Based on search theory, the paper studies the influencing mechanism of Internet on the income gap between urban and rural residents in China. It finds that Internet reduces search costs by reducing the variable costs and increases search efficiency, thus contributes to wage growth. But the differences in Internet penetration between urban and rural regions widen the urban-rural income gap. On the basis of theoretical study, the paper carries out an empirical test by adopting China’s provincial panel factual data between 2004 and 2015. The results show that Internet aggravates the urban-rural income gap, and the effect will change following changes in the regional economic development and human capital factors.
HE Ya-ping, XU Kang-ning.Internet and Income Gap Between Urban and Rural Residents: Factual Examination from China[J] Economic Survey, 2019,V36(2): 25-32