Rural E-commerce Research Articles

Research on the Development Status and Countermeasures of Rural E-commerce in China

Abstract: With the rapid development of the internet, the rural e-commerce in China has also evolved prominently. And it becomes increasingly widespread as well. Concurrently, various issues have surfaced in rural areas, which hinder further development of rural e-commerce in China. Recognizing this complexity, the dissertation delves into the current landscape of rural e-commerce, exploring both its inherent strengths and weaknesses, as well as the opportunities and threats it currently faces. The dissertation aims to clarify the fundamental development ideas and direction for the rural e-commerce in China, not just in theory but also in practical application. To illustrate this, it utilizes the example of Pinduoduo, a prominent e-commerce platform, to analyze how such platforms can effectively contribute to the advancement of rural e-commerce. Finally, the dissertation offers a set of forward-looking suggestions for the future of rural e-commerce, such as intensifying policy promotion, cultivating professional talents, and strengthening network infrastructure.

Research on the Development Path of Rural E-Commerce in Supporting Rural Revitalization

With the rapid development of information technology, rural e-commerce is playing an increasingly important role in promoting rural economic growth, increasing farmers' incomes, and driving rural revitalization. This paper begins by defining rural e-commerce and analyzing its characteristics, current development status both domestically and internationally, and exploring the close connection between e-commerce and rural revitalization. By investigating multiple development paths through which rural e-commerce supports rural revitalization-including industrial structure optimization, market expansion for agricultural products, development of rural human resources, and improvement of information infrastructure—this paper reveals the critical role of rural e-commerce in achieving the goals of rural revitalization. Additionally, it presents relevant policy recommendations and solutions to the challenges faced by rural e-commerce development while forecasting future trends in rural e-commerce.

Can E-Commerce Policies Drive Common Wealth Levels —— A Study Based on County-Level Data in China, 2012-2020

Based on national county panel data from 2012 to 2020, this study systematically examines the impact of the comprehensive e-commerce into rural areas demonstration project implemented in rural China on promoting the level of common wealth by applying the multi-period double-difference method (DID). It is found that the e-commerce policy significantly enhances the level of common wealth. Further analysis of the impact mechanism shows that the policy effectively promotes the goal of common prosperity by enhancing the level of rural employment. In addition, the positive effect of the e-commerce policy is strengthened by the increase in the level of local government fiscal expenditure, however, the driving effect of the policy is weakened by the higher level of social consumption. Heterogeneity analyses indicate that the policy's promotional effect is particularly significant in the demonstration counties of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. This paper fills the research gap on the relationship between rural e-commerce policy and the level of common wealth, and provides empirical evidence and policy recommendations for related policy formulation.

Rural E-commerce, Digital finance, and urban–rural common prosperity: A Quasi-natural Experiment Based on China's Comprehensive Demonstration of E-commerce Entering Rural Areas Policy

This study examined the impact of China's Comprehensive Demonstration of E-commerce Entering Rural Areas Policy (hereafter “the Policy”) on urban–rural shared prosperity. The empirical analyses indicate that the Policy has significantly elevated urban–rural common prosperity while exhibiting regional disparities. China's eastern region has shown the most substantial positive impact, followed by the central region and the western region. The findings illustrate the pivotal role of digital finance as a mediating factor in enhancing common prosperity through e-commerce initiatives in rural areas. These findings offer empirical evidence for formulating and refining urban–rural development policies in China.

Research on the Current Development and Strategy of Rural E-Commerce in Chinas Digital Market-Oriented Economy

The rapid advancement of e-commerce has introduced numerous challenges, particularly regarding the rural-urban divide, marked by disparities in income and resource distribution. Addressing these issues is crucial to ensure sustained growth in this sector. This paper examines the current state of rural e-commerce through secondary data analysis, noting the dichotomy of positive and negative impacts, with a particular focus on Taobao Village as a case study. While existing literature has extensively reviewed the benefits and drawbacks of e-commerce, this paper concentrates on the primary threats and underlying causes affecting rural areas. Notably, the digital divide and skill deficiencies emerge as significant obstacles. The digital divide highlights the gap between those with access to technology and those without, while skill deficiencies refer to the lack of necessary technical skills among rural populations to effectively engage with e-commerce platforms. To address these challenges, the paper proposes several practical solutions. These include increased financial investment in digital infrastructure and targeted training programs to enhance technological skills among rural residents. Additionally, efforts to change attitudes towards technology, particularly among those resistant to electronic devices, are crucial for fostering a more inclusive digital economy. Overall, the paper underscores the need for government intervention to mitigate the potential threats posed by e-commerce, ensuring that the benefits are equitably distributed and the industry continues to flourish.

Exploring the income impact of rural e-commerce comprehensive demonstration project and determinants of county selection

The development of rural e-commerce in China is viewed as an opportunity to increase rural income. Using panel data from 592 national-level key poverty-stricken (NLKPS) counties from 2014 to 2020, we confirm that the National Rural E-commerce Comprehensive Demonstration Project (NRECDP), launched by the Chinese government, delivers significant rural income growth for selected counties by providing financial support. Digital inclusive finance has facilitated rural e-commerce development, thereby promoting rural income. Our study uses the endogeneity switching regression (ESR) model to address self-selection bias and finds that NRECDP participation increases rural income by ~12.97%. The determinants of participation in the NRECDP include levels of economic development, e-commerce development, infrastructure development, industry structure, and digital inclusive finance. Additionally, the determinants of rural income include education levels and population density. Moreover, our heterogeneity analysis reveals that the rural income growth effect of NRECDP involvement is more significant for NLKPS counties in non-ethnic regions, central regions, higher industry structures, and the three regions and three prefectures. Additionally, entrepreneurship serves as a potential channel linking NRECDP implementation and rural income growth.

Impact of Rural E-Commerce on Farmers’ Income and Income Gap

Rural e-commerce, as a new form of digital economy, is of great significance in promoting the income of rural households and realizing common prosperity. Based on the 2021 China Rural Revitalization Survey (CRRS), the impact of rural e-commerce on farmers’ income and the intra-rural income gap is explored using quantile regression. The results found that (1) rural e-commerce can effectively promote the level of farm household income and alleviate the intra-rural income disparity, with this finding still holding after addressing the potential endogeneity problem and conducting robust-type tests. (2) Rural e-commerce has the most pronounced income-generating effect on low-income households in the southern region; participation in rural e-commerce has a more “center-expanding” effect on households in the secondary education and high material capital groups. (3) Saving production and operation costs, shortening the product circulation chain, and improving access to information are channels through which rural e-commerce affects households’ income. It is recommended to actively promote the deep integration and development of rural e-commerce in rural areas, establish a sound mechanism for bridging the “digital divide”, encourage e-commerce “leaders” to build a perfect industrial chain, and guide smallholders to integrate into the rural e-commerce industrial chain to enjoy the digital dividend.

Dual-Channel Supply Chain of Agricultural Products under Centralised and Decentralised Decision-Making

The rise of rural e-commerce, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, has driven agricultural development, resulting in a dual-channel model that combines offline supermarket docking with online e-commerce direct sales. Furthermore, given the perishable nature of most agricultural products, consumers exhibit a preference for high-quality logistics services. This paper analyses the dynamics of the agricultural supply chain, beginning with the “leading enterprises + farmers” production mode, and establishes two optimal decision-making models for online and offline dual-channel agricultural supply chains, incorporating logistics service levels. The first model considers centralised decision-making, where leading agricultural producers and community superstores make decisions simultaneously, aiming to maximise the overall profit of the supply chain. The second model addresses decentralised decision-making in which the producer, as the dominant player in a Stackelberg game, anticipates the reactions of retailers and sets the wholesale price, online sales price, and online logistics service level accordingly. Retailers, as followers, then determine the offline sales price and offline logistics service level based on the producer’s decisions. Finally, we conduct a sensitivity analysis of the proposed models. Our findings reveal that as consumer focus on logistics service levels increases, the overall profit of the supply chain improves, and as the unit logistics cost corresponding to the level of logistics service increases, the marginal benefits of decreasing profit brought about by the increase in unit logistics cost also decrease.

An Evolutionary Game Study of Collaborative Innovation across the Whole Industry Chain of Rural E-Commerce under Digital Empowerment

With the profound integration of digital technology and traditional agriculture, the whole industry chain of rural e-commerce, as an advanced system, is reshaping the production, sales, and management models of agriculture and is emerging as a new catalyst for the advancement of digital agriculture through significant innovation. This paper focuses on the digital empowerment attributes and strategic attributes of the whole industrial chain of rural e-commerce, and evolutionary game models under market mechanisms and regulations are constructed. It examines the influence of various elements, such as the digital technology empowerment coefficient, on collaborative innovation within the whole industry chain of rural e-commerce. Using case simulations, this paper discusses the role of government regulation and intervention when market mechanisms are inadequate. The study reveals that factors such as the digital technology empowerment coefficient, technology absorptive capacity, and the amount of technology and information stored in collaborative innovation positively influence the whole industry chain. Potential risk losses and free-rider gains have negative effects on the evolution of the system toward collaborative innovation. When market mechanisms are inadequate, a combination of operational cost subsidies and incentive measures can yield more effective policy synergy, with the incentive impact of cost subsidies being particularly notable. The strategic application of enterprise-liquidated damage and government penalties will aid in regulating and directing corporate behavior. The findings of this research not only offer a new microlevel explanation for understanding the decision-making mechanism behind collaborative innovation in the whole industrial chain of rural e-commerce but also serve as a reference for government policy formulation to ensure the stability of the whole rural e-commerce industry chain.

Assessing the Sustainability of County-level Rural E-commerce Ecosystems in China: A Multi-dimensional Framework

2. Enhancing the sustainability of the rural e-commerce industry chain and achieving sustainable development within County-level Rural E-commerce Ecosystems (CREE) is a crucial endeavor in China's rural revitalization phase. This study aims to design an assessment tool named SREEM to evaluate the sustainability of China County-level Rural E-commerce Ecosystem. it provides a comprehensive exposition of SREEM, elucidating its foundational principles and indicator origins. From the dimensions of Robustness, Niche Creation, and Endogenous Development Capacity, the study explicates the various levels of indicators within the preliminary SREEM framework. Employing a combined approach of Modified Delphi and AHP, the study screens SREEM assessment indicators and determines indicator weight. The final iteration of SREEM includes 3 first-level indicators, 8 second-level indicators, 23 third-level indicators, and 35 fourth-level indicators.

Exploring the Income-Increasing Benefits of Rural E-Commerce in China: Implications for the Sustainable Development of Farmers

The slowdown in income not only hinders the sustainable development of farmers but also exacerbates ecological and environmental problems. Likewise, the digital economy model represented by e-commerce has become a key path for growing farmers’ income. This article is based on 2020 China Rural Revitalization Survey data and uses the OLS and mediation effect models to examine the impact and mechanism of e-commerce operations on farmers’ income. The research results indicate that e-commerce operations can significantly improve the income level of farmers. After robustness and endogeneity tests, this conclusion still holds. The mechanism analysis results indicate that e-commerce operations promote farmers’ income growth by enhancing information acquisition, reducing operating costs, and enhancing financial support. The results of the heterogeneity analysis indicate that the impact of e-commerce on farmers’ income is heterogeneous in terms of income structure, education level, and regional distribution. Specifically, e-commerce significantly increases farmers’ agricultural operating income, non-agricultural operating income, and transfer income but significantly reduces their wage income. At the same time, e-commerce has a more significant income-increasing effect on highly educated and central and western farmers. Therefore, in promoting the development of a rural digital economy, it is necessary to improve the supporting facilities of e-commerce in rural areas; strengthen the supply of information, technology, capital, talent, and other elements; continue to improve the inclusiveness of rural e-commerce; and promote the sustainable growth of farmers’ income. The above findings not only provide new channels and ideas for farmers to increase income through e-commerce operations, but also help relevant decision-making departments to formulate new policies to promote farmers’ income growth and the development of e-commerce in China.

Does rural e-commerce improve the economic resilience of family farms?

E-commerce and other digital economies are emerging drivers for high-quality development in the Chinese economy. Based on the e-commerce plan in rural China, this paper investigates the effect of e-commerce development on the economic resilience of family farms, using data from 110,574 family farms in China from 2013 to 2021 and applying the staggered DID method. The results show that e-commerce development significantly enhances the resilience of family farms. Mechanism tests reveal that e-commerce policy substantially reduces the financing constraints of family farms and curbs underinvestment, thereby boosting their resilience. However, the effect on family farms with overinvestment is not significant. Additionally, the analysis of heterogeneity indicates that e-commerce has a greater impact on the resilience of family farms in areas with better institutional quality. Regarding the development status of the farm, the impact of e-commerce on resilience is greater in large-scale and capital-intensive family farms. Overall, this study sheds light on the actual impact of rural e-commerce in China on the economic resilience of family farms and offers valuable empirical insights for the revitalization of rural areas in developing countries.

A social reproductive perspective into rural e-commerce and internet history in China

The history of the internet, whether in China or elsewhere in the world, is often told through the stories of successful and often publicly listed companies, state policy initiatives and chronology, or prominent individuals and groups such as tech company founders and influential social and political activists. This short essay tells a different story of the Chinese internet history in the past 30 years from a social reproductive perspective, centering on rural e-commerce and families caught in between the rural-urban divide, against the wider currents of the state’s rural informatization campaign, Chinese Big Techs’ expansion into the countryside, and ongoing transformation in urbanization and rural-urban conversion. The goal is to move beyond a techno-determinist, individualized, and male-centric framework of analyzing digital media and the internet to adopt a materialist, feminist, and substantivist approach.

Online markets, offline happiness: E-commerce development and subjective well-being in rural China

Employing a quasi-natural experiment of the National Rural E-commerce Comprehensive Demonstration County (NRECDC) policy, our research aimed to explore the causal effect of e-commerce development and residents' subjective well-being (SWB) in rural China. By adopting the data of China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2014 to 2020 and using a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) method, we found that rural e-commerce development resulted in an average increase of 2.40% in happiness scores. This positive effect can be explained by absolute material welfare enhancement, relative disparity reduction, and social capital accumulation. Further evidence suggests that e-commerce users are more likely to benefit from the NRECDC policy and that the synergistic effect of digital finance and e-commerce contributes to rural residents' SWB. However, we revealed that the potential digital divide effect in e-commerce development, due to technological barriers and self-digital exclusion, has not enhanced the SWB of some relatively disadvantaged groups in rural China. Our findings enrich the research field of digital well-being and shed light on the potential digital divide effects of digital tools such as e-commerce in rural China.

From expansion to exclusion: recalibrating rural e-commerce in the New Era political economy in western China

This study examines the recalibration of local-level rural e-commerce in China’s New Era political economy. Drawing on fieldwork in three Yunnan counties, this study explores the effects of recalibration on China’s platform giants. We find that the dysfunctional local developmental state—shown as a shift in a diminished developmental drive mainly focused on noneconomic goals, the preferential treatment of local state-backed firms over private platform giants in industrial policy, the digital literacy-poor local bureaucracy, and the alienation of e-commerce firms of all sizes—leads to the misalignment between China’s increasingly security-centric state capitalism and profit-driven platform giants. This misalignment partly contributes to the deceleration of China’s platform economy.

Research on the Development and Operation Model of Yunnan De'ang Sour Tea Featured E-commerce Information Platform

This study aims to provide empirical research on the application of rural e-commerce in rural revitalization through in-depth analysis of the De'ang sour tea industry, and explore how to effectively protect and inherit intangible cultural heritage through e-commerce platforms and digital technology, while promoting the comprehensive development of rural economy and society. Through this study, we aim to provide strategic recommendations for the protection, inheritance, and market development of De'ang sour tea production techniques, and contribute wisdom and strength to the implementation of rural revitalization strategies.

E-commerce and rural women entrepreneurship ——Based on the quasi-natural experiment of “comprehensive demonstration policy” for E-commerce in rural areas

The importance of information and communication technology in rural areas has gradually become prominent, and rural e-commerce has emerged as a crucial driver for promoting agricultural and rural development. This paper takes the comprehensive demonstration policy for e-commerce in rural areas as a quasi-natural experiment. It is based on five-period panel data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) and employs the staggered difference-in-differences method to examine the impact of e-commerce on rural women entrepreneurship and its mechanisms. The research results indicate that the implementation of the comprehensive demonstration policy for e-commerce in rural areas significantly increases the probability of rural women engaging in entrepreneurship by 1.6 %. The entrepreneurial promotion effect of this demonstration policy is more pronounced for rural women in the central and western regions and those with lower educational levels, demonstrating the inclusiveness of e-commerce in rural development. Additionally, this promotion effect is also significantly influenced by marital heterogeneity. Mechanism analysis results suggest that the comprehensive demonstration policy for e-commerce in rural areas can stimulate the use of information and communication technology by rural women, leverage the crucial role of non-traditional education in skill development, alleviate financial and social capital constraints for rural women, and inspire a wave of rural women entrepreneurship. The paper argues that the construction of rural e-commerce has the potential to empower rural women entrepreneurship.

Analysis of the Collaborative Development Relationship between Chinese Rural E-commerce and Regional Economy

Analysis of the Collaborative Development Relationship between Chinese Rural E-commerce and Regional Economy

The Impact of Farmers’ E-Commerce Adoption on Land Transfer: Evidence from Ten Provinces across China

Rural e-commerce is rapidly expanding in rural China, profoundly affecting the agricultural and rural development of China. This paper focuses on the impact of farmers’ e-commerce adoption on land transfer, aiming to reveal the role of farmers’ e-commerce adoption in promoting rural transformation. Based on the 2020 Comprehensive Survey of Rural Revitalization in China conducted by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, this study employs the method of least squares and propensity score matching to evaluate the impact of farmers’ e-commerce adoption on land-transfer behaviors in China. The results indicate that farmers’ e-commerce adoption promotes farmers’ participation in land transfer, significantly facilitating farmers’ land transfer in and increasing the area of land acquired. Additionally, farmers’ e-commerce adoption also promotes the trend of standardization and contractualization in land transfer, significantly increasing the probability of farmers signing formal agreements, clarifying lease terms, and renting land to strangers when acquiring land. This study can provide some theoretical inputs for policies to promote the development of agricultural land markets in developing countries and for policy formulation to promote e-commerce development.

Does digital technology service foster income gains in rural villages? Evidence from China’s third agricultural census

The application of digital technology service like rural e-commerce service centers (RESCs) has captured considerable attention in China, but existing literature has not yet provided solid empirical evidence regarding its potential to foster rural income gains. Utilizing large-scale survey data from the Third National Agricultural Census (TNAC) of China, this study attempts to investigate the impact and underlying mechanisms of RESCs on income gains across 49,135 villages. The results indicate that RESCs significantly increase village income gains in rural China, which confirm the theory of “space of flows.” In addition, heterogeneity analysis reveals that this income increasing effect is significantly higher in eastern China, as well as in rural villages with migrant populations and college-graduate cadres. The conclusion remains robust even after conducting several robustness checks and instrumental variable estimation. Furthermore, mechanism analysis unveils that RESCs improve village income gains by promoting characteristic agricultural development, encouraging entrepreneurship, and enhancing government funding support. The findings shed light on policy implications for the design and implementation of rural digital technology policies in developing countries.