The Impact Mechanism of Digital Rural Construction on Land Use Efficiency: Evidence from 255 Cities in China

Based on panel data from 255 prefecture-level and above cities in China from 2011 to 2023, this article innovatively integrates digital rural construction, the digital literacy of farmers, green production of farmers, and land use efficiency into a unified framework for theoretical and empirical research. Our research has found that digital rural construction can indeed have a direct promoting effect on land use efficiency, with an impact coefficient of 0.451, which is significant at the 1% level. The addition of control variables and robustness tests indicates that this result is robust. Building digital villages can also boost land use efficiency in a roundabout way by enhancing farmers’ digital skills and promoting eco-friendly farming practices, with impact coefficients of 0.445 and 0.283, respectively, both significant at the 1% level. The impact of digital rural areas on land use efficiency is heterogeneous. Our studies have indicated that the impact of digital rural development on the shift towards green production among farmers cultivating cash crops is more significant compared to those growing grain crops. Additionally, the influence of digital rural development on improving land use efficiency is more pronounced among farmers who are risk-averse compared to those who are not.