Rural Digitalization, Urban-Rural Integrated Development and Common Prosperity

农村数字化更迭着农村社会发展，推动农村在公共基础设施、公共服务等层面缩小与城市差距，进而推进共同富裕。本研究基于2011~2022年中国31个省(市、区)的面板数据，探讨了农村数字化水平对共同富裕的直接影响及城乡融合发展的中介作用。研究发现，农村数字化可以显著推动共同富裕实现；城乡融合发展在农村数字化促进共同富裕过程中起到部分中介作用。分地区回归分析显示，农村数字化对共同富裕的促进作用在东部、中部和西部地区均显著，但影响程度存在差异，具体表现为东部地区 > 西部地区 > 中部地区。研究结果表明，农村数字化建设是实现共同富裕的重要途径，未来应加速推进农村数字化进程，同时注重城乡融合发展的协同推进，以充分发挥数字化在促进共同富裕中的潜力。Rural digitalization is changing the development of rural society, promoting the narrowing of the gap between rural areas and cities in terms of public infrastructure and public services, and promoting common prosperity. Based on panel data from 31 provinces (municipalities and districts) in China from 2011 to 2022, this study explores the impact of rural digitalization on common prosperity and its mechanism. The study finds that the level of rural digitalization has a significant positive effect on common prosperity. Urban-rural integration development has played a partial mediating role between rural digitalization and common prosperity. The regression analysis by region showed that the promotion effect of rural digitalization on common prosperity was significant in the eastern, central and western regions, but there were differences in the degree of impact, which was manifested in the eastern region > the western region > the central region. The results show that rural digitalization is an important way to achieve common prosperity, and the process of rural digitalization should be accelerated in the future, and the coordinated promotion of urban-rural integration development should be paid attention, so as to give full play to the potential of digitalization in promoting common prosperity.