The Three Levels of the Rural Digital Divide in China: Spatial Patterns and Regional Disparities

HuEr Shuang, Xiaolong Gan, Shuang Xiang, Tao Wen · 2025 · Review of Development Economics

Summary. China's rural digital divide operates across three dimensions—access, usage, and outcomes—with significant regional disparities. Eastern coastal regions show the strongest digital development but face outcome gaps, inland areas struggle with usage, and northwestern regions lack basic access. Coastal areas benefit from multiple reinforcing factors, while inland regions depend on single factors, creating exclusion risks. The study recommends region-specific policies to address these distinct challenges.

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@article{shuang-2025-three-levels-rural-digital-divide,
  title   = {The Three Levels of the Rural Digital Divide in China: Spatial Patterns and Regional Disparities},
  author  = {HuEr Shuang and Xiaolong Gan and Shuang Xiang and Tao Wen},
  journal = {Review of Development Economics},
  year    = {2025},
  doi     = {10.1111/rode.70063},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.70063}
}

TY  - JOUR
TI  - The Three Levels of the Rural Digital Divide in China: Spatial Patterns and Regional Disparities
AU  - HuEr Shuang
AU  - Xiaolong Gan
AU  - Shuang Xiang
AU  - Tao Wen
JO  - Review of Development Economics
PY  - 2025
DO  - 10.1111/rode.70063
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.70063
ER  - 

Details

DOI

10.1111/rode.70063

Countries

China

Regions

Asia

Categories

broadband-and-digital, regional-innovation-systems, rural-data-and-definitions

Added

2026-04-28