Impact of the COVID-19 on labour employment in rural China: Can information literacy mitigate the shock?

Abstract

ABSTRACT In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, most work was done online, the role of information literacy in influencing rural labour employment is worth investigating. Using survey data from 3,225 rural labourers in China, this study builds Item Response Theory and Tobit models, and finds that the pandemic hinders rural labour employment; however, information literacy promotes it and can mitigate the negative impact of the pandemic. We provide evidence for the positive role of information literacy, and policymakers should consider improving the information literacy of the rural labourers.