What Kind of Rural Digital Configurations Contribute to High County-Level Economic Growth? A Study Conducted in China’s Digital Village Pilot Counties

The digitalization of rural areas has emerged as a crucial strategy for promoting economic development, yet the phenomenon of “digital suspension” poses a challenge, where the lack of digital integration in certain sectors may hinder economic progress. This study delves into this issue by identifying multiple configurations that drive county-level economic growth. More specifically, this study aims to explore how rural digitalization contributes to county-level economic growth through different combinations of environmental and subject-level factors. To address this issue, this study applies the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis method, guided by systems thinking and ecological systems theory. The analysis is based on 89 case samples selected from China’s digital village pilot counties, using data from the China County-level Digital Rural Index Research Report jointly released by Peking University and Ali Research Institute, published in 2022, and other county-level statistical data. The study explores the complex causal mechanisms and configuration paths through which rural digitalization empowers county-level economic growth. This study found that (1) the conditions necessary to generate high county-level economic growth do not exist in the process of rural digitalization (at least not within the digital village pilot); (2) four configurations facilitate high county-level economic growth: digital governance-led configuration, dual promotion of digital governance and digital infrastructure, dual promotion of digital life and digital infrastructure, and dual promotion of digital life and digital economy; and (3) two configurations yield non-high county-level economic growth and exhibit asymmetrical relationships with those configurations conducive to high growth. These research findings not only broaden the application of systems thinking and ecological systems theory in the realm of rural digitalization but also offer practical insights into strategies for enhancing county-level economic growth.