Industrial Structural Change, the Urban-Rural Income Gap, and Its Regional Heterogeneity: Based on Panel Data from Thirteen Prefecture- Level Cities in Jiangsu Province, 2006–2019

With China's economy shifting from high-speed development to high-quality development, balanced urban and rural progress has become crucial in economic development. This paper analyzes the impact of the three major industries on the urban-rural income gap using panel data from thirteen prefecture-level cities in Jiangsu Province from 2006 to 2019, employing an individual fixed effects model. The urban-rural income gap is measured using the Thiel index, which quanti-tatively captures income distribution disparities by considering both income and population structures. From the provincial perspective, the development of primary and secondary industries effectively suppresses the widening of the urban-rural income gap. In contrast, due to regional heterogeneity in economic development and industrial structures, the impact varies between southern and northern Jiangsu. These findings suggest that targeted industrial policies considering regional differences could play a significant role in narrowing the urban-rural income gap, informing provincial and national strategies for equitable development.