How Does Rural Digitalization Affect the Resilience of the Swine Industry? A Sustainable Development Perspective

Understanding the impact of rural digitalization on the resilience of the swine industry is crucial to promoting its transformation toward efficient and low-carbon production. However, existing research has not yet clarified how rural digitalization influences the resilience of the swine industry, and there is a particular lack of discussion regarding potential nonlinear relationships. Based on panel data from 30 Chinese provinces for the period 2011–2023, we employed the entropy method to measure the level of rural digitalization and the resilience of the swine industry. Two-way fixed-effects, mediation, and threshold models were adopted to empirically examine the relationship and underlying mechanisms. The findings indicated that rural digitalization significantly enhances the resilience of the swine industry, and this finding remained robust after multiple robustness checks and endogeneity treatments. This effect is primarily mediated by two pathways: industrial-scale expansion and industrial agglomeration. Additionally, well-designed environmental policies and higher rural household incomes can strengthen the beneficial effect of rural digitalization on industrial resilience. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that the positive influence is stronger in regions with poor transportation infrastructure and in central and western China, where digitalization effectively strengthens the industry’s shock resistance and adaptive capacity. This study offers meaningful implications for policymakers seeking to accelerate rural digitalization and promote high-quality development of the swine industry in the digital age.