Industrial Upgrading and Spatial Spillover Effects on Rural Revitalization: Evidence from County-Level Fujian in China

Industrial development is a fundamental driver of socio-economic progress, and industrial structure upgrading plays a vital role in advancing rural revitalization. Based on county-level panel data from Fujian Province from 2017 to 2022, this study employs Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and spatial econometric models—including the Spatial Lag Model (SLM) and Spatial Error Model (SEM)—to empirically assess the impact of county-level industrial structure upgrading on rural revitalization, as well as its spatial transmission mechanisms. The findings reveal that: (1) an increase in the proportion of secondary and tertiary industries significantly enhances the rural revitalization development index at the 1% level of significance; (2) rural revitalization development exhibits strong spatial dependence and positive spatial spillover effects, indicating a “local club convergence” pattern among neighboring counties; and (3) the SEM outperforms OLS and SLM, suggesting that inter-county disparities in rural revitalization primarily result from spatial heterogeneities such as infrastructure and public service quality. Additionally, factors such as transportation accessibility, social public services, and per capita GDP have significant positive effects, while the impact of fiscal agricultural investment appears limited. This study provides empirical evidence to support coordinated development between industrial upgrading and rural revitalization strategies and offers policy insights for constructing an integrated and regionally synergistic framework for rural development in China.