Who Benefits from the Internet? The Impact of Internet Technology on Farmers’ Agricultural Sales Performance and Its Heterogeneity

Smallholder farmers in developing countries often face barriers to market participation due to information asymmetry and limited access to marketing channels. This study investigates the impact of internet technology on farmers’ agricultural sales and its heterogeneity, using data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) covering 14,577 agricultural households. Propensity score matching and unconditional quantile regression are employed for empirical analysis. The results show that (1) internet adoption significantly improves agricultural sales performance, increasing average sales output by 4680 CNY (Chinese Yuan, the official currency of China); (2) the effects of internet adoption are heterogeneous across industry types, education level, income level, social ties, and internet access devices; (3) the marginal impact of internet use grows with higher sales levels, with the strongest effect observed at the 95% quantile. This study highlights the impact of rural internet technology on increasing market transaction efficiency.