A Study of the Influence and Mechanism of Internet Use on Peasant Household Income Growth
LUO Qianfeng1, ZHAO Qifeng2
1. Institute of Rural Development, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100732, China; 2. Institute of Quantitative Economics and Technological Economics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100732, China
Abstract Based on the data of China Rural Revitalization Survey (CRRS) in 2020, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of farmers' Internet use behavior on their household income growth. The results show that Internet use has a significant income-generating effect. After solving the potential endogenous problems by using the instrumental variable and propensity score matching method, and conducting a robustness test on the impact of different Internet access methods on household income, consistent conclusions can still be obtained. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the income increasing effect of Internet use in rural households with lower education level of head of household, average age of family members between 41 and 65 years old and small-scale land management is more obvious. The analysis of the impact mechanism indicates that Internet use mainly influenced farm household income through five paths: reducing production and operation costs, promoting effective connection between farm households and markets, promoting human capital accumulation, enhancing financial capital support and improving social capital levels. According to the above conclusions, this paper puts forward the following policy recommendations: (1)It is necessary to consolidate the foundation of Internet development and improve the level of Internet use by farmers; (2) We should give full play to the effect of increasing income through multiple channels of the Internet, and promote the steady increase of farmers' income through multiple channels; (3)In addition, the income-generating effect of the Internet should be brought into play under the framework of common prosperity to guarantee farmers' reasonable sharing of digital economy dividends.
LUO Qianfeng,ZHAO Qifeng. A Study of the Influence and Mechanism of Internet Use on Peasant Household Income Growth. Economic Survey, 2022, 39(6): 034.
2022, Vol. 39 
