Research on the Impact of Digital Rural Construction on Farmers’ Income Levels

Currently, promoting farmers’ income growth remains a key task in the work concerning agriculture, rural areas, and farmers. As a strategic direction of rural revitalization, digital rural construction exerts a significant impact on increasing farmers’ income. Based on provincial panel data from 2015 to 2023, this paper constructed an evaluation index system to measure and analyze the level of digital rural construction across provinces. Using fixed effects, mediation effects, and threshold effects models, it empirically tested the impact of digital rural construction on farmers’ income levels. The results showed that the overall level of digital rural construction in China had been rising year by year, but it remained at a relatively low stage, with notable disparities among provinces and regions. Digital rural construction could not only directly promoted farmers’ income growth but also positively affected farmers’ income through labor transfer. This income-enhancing effect was particularly prominent in the eastern, central, and northeastern regions, and is more pronounced in areas with higher economic development levels and greater human capital potential. Furthermore, there existed a significant nonlinear relationship between digital rural construction and farmer’s income level: when the level of digital rural construction surpassed a certain threshold, its positive effect on farmers’ income became markedly significant. Based on these findings, this paper proposes policy recommendations such as coordinating the balanced development of digital rural construction, implementing differentiated regional policies, and improving farmers’ digital literacy.