The Impact Effect And Path Of Digital Economy On Urban-rural Integration Development

In the opening year of the 14th Five Year Plan,China’s digital economy showed strong vitality and led the rapid recovery of China’s economy in the face of the complex external environment,the global outbreak of the COVID-19,and the lack of internal economic recovery and other pressures.At the same time,urban-rural integration development is an important part of rural revitalization and an effective way to solve the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development in China.The externality,high permeability and non-competitiveness of the digital economy enable it to transcend the space-time constraints between urban and rural areas and accelerate the exchange of urban and rural elements.Therefore,this paper studies the urban-rural integration development from the perspective of digital economy,which provides a reference way for China to implement the rural revitalization strategy and promote high-quality economic development.This paper first analyzes the mechanism of digital economy and urban-rural integration development based on theory and literature,and puts forward four hypotheses.Based on these four hypotheses,this paper selects panel data of 30 provinces and cities in China from 2013 to 2020,constructs the index system of urban-rural integration and digital economy development index respectively,and uses entropy method to measure,and obtains urban-rural integration development index and digital economy development index.Then this paper empirically analyzes the impact path of the digital economy and the level of urban-rural integration development:building a spatial Dubin model to analyze the impact relationship between the two;The 30 provinces in China are divided into three regions,the east,the west and the east,to analyze the regional heterogeneity of their influence;Then we select GDP per capita and urbanization rate as threshold variables to explore the nonlinear relationship between them;Finally,we choose three intermediary variables:industrial structure upgrading,rural residents’ income and factor flow to explore the impact path between them.Through the above research,we find that:(1)China’s urban-rural integration development index and digital economy development index are increasing year by year,and show the spatial distribution characteristics of "high in the east and low in the west"(2)digital economy can promote urban-rural integration development;(3)The impact of digital economy on urban-rural integration varies from place to place;(4)With the improvement of the level of economic development and the acceleration of urbanization,the role of digital economy in promoting the integration of urban and rural development has increased;(5)The digital economy can promote the integration of urban and rural development by influencing the upgrading of industrial structure,improving farmers’ income and accelerating the flow of factors.Based on the above conclusions,suggestions are put forward:(1)face up to the lack of urban-rural integration and development,and strive to narrow the urban-rural gap;(2)Increase investment in rural digital economy and narrow the digital gap between urban and rural areas;(3)Fully tap other driving factors and explore new development directions from multiple perspectives;(4)Formulate correct industrial structure policies and development strategies.