How does rural digitalization contribute to agricultural economic development? A quasi-experiment with China’s digital village policy

Introduction The digital infrastructure gap in rural areas hinders the agricultural sectors of developing countries from harnessing the benefits of digital technologies. This study examines how rural digitalization, specifically through China’s Digital Village Policy, contributes to agricultural economic development, addressing its roles and underlying mechanisms. Methods Utilizing panel data from county-level areas in China from 2011 to 2022, this research employs a quasi-experimental design and the difference-in-differences (DID) method to estimate the causal impact of digital village policies. Robustness tests, including parallel trend tests, placebo tests, propensity score matching (PSM-DID), and controls for other intrusive policies, are conducted to validate the findings. Results The results indicate that rural digitalization significantly promotes agricultural economic development, a finding that remains robust across various model specifications and tests. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the policy effect is strongest in western China. Mechanism analysis further identifies three key transmission channels: enhancing agricultural productivity, accelerating the urbanization process, and strengthening county-level innovation capacity. Discussion These findings demonstrate that digital village construction drives agricultural economic growth through multifaceted pathways. The study provides theoretical insights into the synergistic effects of digitalization, institutional innovation, and spatial governance. It offers practical policy implications for optimizing smart agriculture initiatives and digital village strategies, both in China and for other developing regions aiming to achieve sustainable agricultural transformation.