National digital village pilot construction alleviates the economic gap between counties in China

This paper exploits panel data on 1,564 Chinese counties from 2015 to 2023 and applies a difference-in-differences approach to evaluate the impact of digital village pilot on inter-county economic disparities. The results show that the pilots significantly narrow county-level economic gaps, a finding that remains robust across multiple tests. Mechanism analysis suggests that digital village initiatives enhance endogenous county development by promoting technological innovation and rural entrepreneurship, with industrial upgrading playing a moderating role. It has a stronger impact on regions with a lower degree of reliance on agriculture, regions with greater financial support, and the central and western regions. Policy implications include the steady expansion of digital village pilots, strengthening of innovation and entrepreneurship, guidance for industrial upgrading, and improved supportive policies to foster coordinated regional development.