The Impact and Mechanism Analysis of Internet Use on Farmers’ Entrepreneurial Behavior—Based on CFPS Micro-Survey Data

本文基于2022年中国家庭追踪调查(CFPS)数据，实证检验互联网使用对农民创业行为的影响及其群体异质性。研究发现，互联网使用显著促进农户创业行为发生概率并提升其创业收入，这些正向影响在使用工具变量法纠正了内生性问题后依然存在，异质性分析表明中年群体使用互联网能促进其创业，而对青年群体的影响未达显著水平。其次，在性别纬度上，互联网使用对男性创业概率的提升效应显著高于女性群体。研究揭示数字技术赋能的年龄差异化特征，为优化农村创业支持政策提供依据：建议通过强化互联网基础设施、构建社会网络支持体系、提升农民机会识别能力等路径，针对性激发中年农户创业潜力，同时关注青年群体创业激励政策的创新设计。This paper is based on the 2022 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data to empirically examine the impact of internet use on farmers’ entrepreneurial behavior and its group heterogeneity. The study finds that internet use significantly increases the probability of entrepreneurial behavior among rural households and enhances their entrepreneurial income. These positive effects remain after correcting for endogeneity issues using the instrumental variable method. Heterogeneity analysis indicates that internet use promotes entrepreneurship among middle-aged groups, while its impact on the youth group is not significant. Additionally, in terms of gender, the positive effect of internet use on the entrepreneurial probability of men is significantly higher than that of women. The study reveals the age-differentiated characteristics of digital technology empowerment and provides a basis for optimizing rural entrepreneurship support policies. It is recommended to enhance the entrepreneurial potential of middle-aged rural households through strengthening internet infrastructure, building social network support systems, and improving farmers’ ability to identify opportunities. At the same time, attention should be paid to the innovative design of entrepreneurial incentive policies for the youth group.