Rural Public Services Research Articles

How Can Digital Villages Improve Basic Public Services Delivery in Rural Areas? Evidence from 1840 Counties in China

Digital transformation is spreading from urban to rural areas, and the construction of digital villages has become a key growth point for rural sustainable development globally. Digital villages improve the level of basic public services delivery in rural areas via the penetration of digital technology. However, few studies have empirically investigated the theoretical mechanisms underlying the impact of digital villages on various aspects of rural basic public services. To address these gaps, this study investigates the impact mechanisms of digital villages on rural basic public services delivery in terms of accessibility, equity, agility, holistic nature and participation. Using 1840 counties in China as the research sample, this study applies the entropy method to extract a composite index of basic public services and performs correlation, regression, and heterogeneity analyses to examine the effects of digital villages on basic public services delivery. Empirical analysis results show that the construction of digital villages is positively associated with the level of basic public services in rural areas. Meanwhile, heterogeneity analysis results confirms that this relationship is mainly observed in eastern counties but not observed in central and western counties. These findings provide a basis for using digital inclusion to improve basic public services delivery in rural areas and achieve balanced development across regions.

Analysis on the Evolution Characteristics of Rural Tourism Public Service System from the Perspective of Digitalization—Empirical Evidence from the Silk Road Economic Belt

The integration of digitalization with public tourism services has emerged as a new model for the development of the rural tourism public services. The Silk Road Economic Belt is a crucial area for the future development of the tourism industry. Exploring the coupling of the digitalization and the development trends of the rural tourism public services is significant for advancing rural tourism in this region. This study applies Complex Adaptive Systems theory and Synergy theory to the development of the digitization of rural tourism public services, clarifying the structure of the digitization of the rural tourism public service system. Based on this, a collaborative development evaluation system for the digitization of rural tourism public services is constructed, focusing on the Silk Road Economic Belt. By using the SMI-P evaluation model, ArcGIS spatial visualization, Gini coefficient, and kernel density methods, the collaborative development of the digitization of the rural tourism public service system was measured and analyzed in this paper. The findings reveal the following: (1) The collaborative development of the digitization of the rural tourism public service system in the Silk Road Economic Belt shows a gradual upward trend, yet the overall level of the collaboration is transitioning from a state of imbalance. (2) Compared to the Southwest, the Northwest exhibits a lower overall level of collaboration, with growing disparities in collaborative development indices among provinces, although there is a trend toward higher levels of aggregation. (3) The development of the rural tourism public services is trending toward a favorable state of multi-dimensional collaboration, characterized by significant regional features, including multi-polarization and unbalanced development. Finally, optimization paths for the digital development of the rural tourism public services were proposed in this study, which can provide guidance for improving the construction of the digitization of the rural tourism public service system and exploring clear development pathways.

The Construction and Application of Evaluation Index System of Rural Public Digital Cultural Service Accessibility

ABSTRACTThis research takes the accessibility of rural public digital cultural services as the research object. Based on the accessibility framework and system evaluation theory, an evaluation index system is constructed through investigation and analysis. Firstly, through on‐site investigation and interviews, explore service accessibility factors and establish a feature factor model; Secondly, based on industry norms, an evaluation system was constructed that includes primary, secondary, and tertiary indicators, and was revised and validated through empirical analysis; Finally, the AHP fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method was applied to study the indicator system. The results indicate that the accessibility of public digital cultural services is good, but still needs to be improved, and improvement path suggestions are proposed from the aspects of resource supply, services, organization and management, etc. The research enriches the evaluation system of public cultural services and provide reference for the government to improve public digital cultural services.

Digital Public Services in Indonesia Show High Satisfaction and Adaptation Challenges Remain

General background: Public service is an essential function of government, aimed at fulfilling citizen needs through the provision of goods, services, and administrative support in accordance with regulations. Effective public service requires continuous bureaucratic reforms. Specific background: Lemujut Village, in collaboration with the Population and Civil Registration Service of Sidoarjo Regency, introduced the Online Service (Plavon) application to improve population administration and civil registration services. However, the effectiveness of the Plavon application remains underexplored. Knowledge gap: There is limited research on the effectiveness of digital public service platforms like Plavon in rural Indonesian settings, particularly in terms of productivity, efficiency, satisfaction, and adaptability. Aims: This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the Plavon application in improving public service quality in Lemujut Village by analyzing five key elements: productivity, efficiency, satisfaction, adaptation, and development. Results: Findings indicate that productivity is high, with Plavon operators following procedures and maintaining public trust. However, efficiency is lacking, as some administrative processes fail to meet service time standards. Community satisfaction is notably high at 98.98%, but adaptation to digital services remains suboptimal due to inadequate socialization. Development efforts, such as coordinating via WhatsApp and establishing a call center, show significant progress. Novelty: This study provides a detailed evaluation of the Plavon application’s impact on village-level public services, highlighting the role of digitalization in improving service delivery while identifying challenges in community adaptation and efficiency. Implications: The findings suggest the need for enhanced socialization of digital services and continued development of digital infrastructure to ensure equitable access and efficiency in rural public services. Highlights: High public satisfaction, but service delays persist. Digital adaptation slow due to lack of community awareness. Effective coordination boosts service improvement efforts. Keywords: Public service, digital platform, Plavon, effectiveness, rural Indonesia

Policy design and implementation: a quantitative evaluation and empirical study of China's rural sports policy based on the PMC index model.

The formulation and implementation of a rural sports policy is an important means of promoting rural sports, improving the physical wellbeing of farmers, and enhancing the cohesion of rural communities. However, introducing such a policy faces problems in the process of specific policy practices, such as poor effective implementation, a lagging implementation effect, and goal cognitive bias. How to look at the current rural sports policy implementation blockage problem and the governance of the blockage, in order to improve the level of rural sports public service, is the focus of this paper's research. On this basis, this paper selects 56 policy texts, issued from 2002 to 2023, that are highly relevant to rural sports and have high timeliness and authority from the sports policies issued in China. Also, ROST CM6 software is used to count high-frequency words; this study then draws keyword social network mapping for the visual analysis of policy preferences and selects 20 rural sports policy texts as typical samples. Finally, a policy modeling research consistency (PMC) index model is used to evaluate the texts comprehensively and quantitatively. The results show that the overall design of China's rural sports policies is relatively reasonable. However, the consistency and effectiveness of their implementation need to be improved. Twenty representative policy texts have an average PMC index score of 5.96, with a concave index of 3.04 (which is good overall), with the highest mean value for rural sports policies at the national level. This is followed by the second highest value at the municipal and county levels, and the smallest at the provincial level. Therefore, in the future formulation and implementation of rural sports policies, a multi-dimensional rural sports policy system should be constructed. This would help to strengthen the consistency and effectiveness of the implementation of the policy system and promote the high-quality development of rural sports.

Research on the Interaction Mechanism between Land System Reform and Rural Population Flow: Europe (Taking Spain as an Example) and China

This paper examines the interaction between land policies and rural labor migration in China and Europe, highlighting how land reforms guide labor mobility and their impacts on land and social structures. In China, the Household Contract Responsibility System and land transfer policies have facilitated agricultural scale expansion and the urbanization of the rural labor force. Homestead reforms have further enhanced farmers’ asset liquidity. In Europe, using Spain as a case study, EU agricultural policies have spurred agricultural modernization, economic diversification, and intensive land use. These advancements benefitted from a mature land transfer market and increased non-agricultural employment opportunities. Both China and Europe face challenges of population aging and rural depopulation, necessitating improvements in land use efficiency, the balance of the scale, and the protection of farmers’ rights and interests. Europe addresses labor shortages through technology, mechanization, and cooperatives, while China employs land trusteeship, transfer platforms, and the “three rights separation” system to combat land abandonment and labor shortages. Future research should strengthen comparative studies between China and Europe, quantify interactive relationships, consider the impact of transnational labor mobility under globalization, explore policy innovations, and foster international cooperation to address demographic changes and agricultural labor shortages. Additionally, promoting sustainable land use and farmers’ rights, equalizing urban–rural public services, enhancing education and training, and improving the social security system are crucial for integrated urban–rural development.

Rural healthcare workforce preparation, response, and work during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia: Lessons learned from in-depth interviews with rural health service leaders

BackgroundLow population density, geographic spread, limited infrastructure and higher costs are unique challenges in the delivery of healthcare in rural areas. During the COVID-19 pandemic, emergency powers adopted globally to slow the spread of transmission of the virus included population-wide lockdowns and restrictions upon movement, testing, contact tracing and vaccination programs. The aim of this research was to document the experiences of rural health service leaders as they prepared for the emergency pandemic response, and to derive from this the lessons learned for workforce preparedness to inform recommendations for future policy and emergency planning. Methodology and methodsInterviews were conducted with leaders from two rural public health services in Australia, one small (500 staff) and one large (3000 staff). Data were inductively coded and analysed thematically. ParticipantsThirty-three participants included health service leaders in executive, clinical, and administrative roles. FindingsSix major themes were identified: Working towards a common goal, Delivery of care, Education and training, Organizational governance and leadership, Personal and psychological impacts, and Working with the Local Community. Findings informed the development of a applied framework. ConclusionThe study findings emphasise the critical importance of leadership, teamwork and community engagement in preparing the emergency pandemic response in rural areas. Informed by this research, recommendations were made to guide future rural pandemic emergency responses or health crises around the world.

Examining Urban-Rural Public Service Equalization and Common Prosperity in China: A Data-Driven Study on Regional Disparity

Achieving equal access to basic public services between urban and rural areas in China has become an important pathway to eliminating inequality, improving national welfare, and ultimately achieving common prosperity. Through data analysis and a data-driven approach, it is possible to better guide future policy formulation and implementation to help China achieve its goal of inclusive growth. This research endeavors to examine the interrelations between the discrepancies in basic public services provision in urban and rural areas, establishing a comprehensive evaluation indicator framework, while delving into the intricate dynamics between such service equalization and the attainment of common prosperity. Moreover, it aims to uncover the varying degrees of regional disparities witnessed during the journey to common prosperity in different parts of China, thereby providing valuable insights and references for nations and regions striving to enhance social equality. This study focused on the 31 provincial-level administrative regions of China(excluding the regions of Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) The research methodology entails employing the entropy weight method to determine the weights of evaluation indicators, supplemented by a coupling coordination model to analyze the level of harmonization between urban and rural areas. Furthermore, the Dagum Gini coefficient method and kernel density estimation were utilized for an in-depth exploration of the distribution and disparities observed in regional coordination. The findings of this study reveal that between 2012 and 2021, the disparities in the equalization of basic public services between China’s urban and rural areas witnessed a progressive widening, despite modest improvements in the overall level of common prosperity. The prevailing pattern observed can be summarized as “high coupling, low coordination”. Notably, these disparities are particularly conspicuous in the western regions of the country. Additionally, this research identifies the imbalanced development of basic public service equalization between urban and rural areas as the primary cause for the observed low level of coordination. This study emphasized the intrinsic nexus and coordinated interplay existing between the equalization of urban and rural public services and the achievement of common prosperity. To foster enhanced coordination between urban and rural areas, it is imperative to prioritize the implementation of policies that promote the amalgamation of urban and rural realms, while concurrently striking a harmonious balance in the pursuit of multi-dimensional objectives. Furthermore, region-specific policies need to be formulated, with particular attention to addressing the disparities in coordination and the polarization issues prevalent in the western regions, ensuring the effectiveness and precision of these measures.

Exploring Ways and Mechanisms for Farmers' Cooperatives to Participate in Rural Public Services

From the perspective of the path and mechanisms of rural integration, this article explores the logic behind the integration of cooperatives into rural governance, using the Hongyuan Farmers' Cooperative in Binchuan County, Dali City, Yunnan Province, as a case study.By leading villagers in development initiatives and embedding itself culturally and socially, the cooperative uses its organisational advantages to promote the healthy economic growth of villages and foster harmonious livelihoods among villagers. Through specific benefit-sharing mechanisms, the cooperative provides governance resources to the village collective, thereby strengthening the community's governance capacity. As the development of the farmers' cooperative progresses, the joint development of rural economic and public governance goals leads to the gradual formation of a new rural governance community.Practical experience shows that integrating the institutional strengths of farmers' cooperatives into rural governance, coupled with internal and external policy management, reshapes the governance structure of different rural governance units. This becomes a new direction for promoting the modernisation of rural governance systems and governance capacities. In essence, this article highlights how the cooperative, by integrating itself culturally and economically into the village, not only promotes economic growth but also empowers villagers to live harmoniously. Moreover, the incorporation of the cooperative's institutional strengths into rural governance redefines the structure of rural management units, suggesting a promising way to modernise rural governance systems.

Research on the village layout optimization in China's developed areas based on daily life circles.

Public service facilities are the basic material carrier of social services. It is of great significance for the operation of social justice and the improvement of residents' wellbeing. In the process of rapid urbanization, the demand for traffic convenience and diversity of public service facilities in rural areas has been further improved. Since the sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, it is more necessary to meet the public service needs of human daily life within a certain space. The huge gap between urban and rural infrastructures, human living conditions, and supporting public services such as education, health, and culture has become a key bottleneck constraining the integration of urban and rural areas. It is appropriate to focus on the requirements for the construction of daily life circles and prioritize the satisfaction of villagers' increasing demand for public services in regions characterized by high levels of urban-rural integration. The behavior preference of public service facilities significantly affects the choice of residential areas. The existing research on village layout optimization focused on the spatial pattern, landscape morphology, influencing factors, and other contents. To some extent, the preference for equalization of public services in the context of urban-rural integration has been ignored. Uneven distribution and low utilization of public service facilities in villages resulted in an inability to adapt spatially and functionally in response to the renewal of urban-rural relations. Taking a highly developed urban and rural integration area named Wuxi City of Jiangsu Province in China as an example, this paper combines the current situation of public service facility allocation and the transport situation of residents in rural areas to build a life-circle system of different levels. On this basis, combined with the optimization goal of public service facilities and the constraints of agglomeration coverage, we try to determine the village layout optimization scheme under the construction of both the daily life circle and location-allocation model. The study can effectively adjust the allocation of public resources in rural areas and solve the problems of irrational village layout leading to long travel distances. It can also serve as a reference for improving the situation of lagging rural public service functions and promoting urban-rural equalization.

Research on Digital Rural Construction and Public Service Supply: Taking the Anhui, Zhejiang and Jiangsu as an Example

Digital rural construction is an important means to achieve the rural revitalization strategy and an effective way to improve the supply level of rural public services. This article takes the Anhui Zhejiang Jiangsu region as an example to analyze the current situation, operational mechanisms, development difficulties, and advantages of public service supply under the background of digital rural construction. It proposes the path selection of public service supply under digital rural construction, including formulating quality implementation standards for digitalization of rural public services, constructing a rural public service data sharing mechanism, strengthening the construction of digital infrastructure for rural public services Promoting the deep integration of digital technology and rural public service elements, and improving the quality evaluation mechanism for digitizing rural public services, aiming to provide some suggestions for the construction of digital rural areas and the supply of rural public services.

Implementation Path of Legalization in Rural Governance in China

The rule of law serves as the foundation for constructing modern rural governance mechanisms and stands as an essential avenue toward achieving modern governance. Influenced by unique natural environments and diverse cultural customs, remote rural areas in China still face challenges in the construction of rural legal foundations, the inadequacy of legal systems in rural governance, insufficient public legal services in rural areas, and a lack of institutional mechanisms for diverse participation in the legalization of rural governance. To address these issues, there is a necessity to prioritize the most pressing needs of farmers. This necessitates focusing on building a comprehensive legal system in agricultural domains, emphasizing the status of village regulations and customary laws, strengthening rural public legal service systems, innovating methods of legal education, and fostering a legal atmosphere. This approach aims to expedite the process of legalizing rural governance.

Research on multidimensional impact assessment model of public cultural service facilities in Henan Province rural

Abstract The countryside plays a crucial role in constructing a robust socialist cultural nation, with rural public cultural facilities serving as the primary hub for public cultural activities and content. This paper utilizes each city and village in Henan Province as an example, with rural culture development serving as the primary research topic. The paper uses the influence of rural public cultural facilities as the main research index and constructs a relevant evaluation index system to assess their impact. Combine the subjective entropy value method and the objective hierarchical analysis method for the combination of weighting to judge the importance of the indicators. The TOPSIS method is employed to evaluate the complete impact, and the fuzzy set qualitative comparison method is employed to investigate the path of influence improvement. The government places greater importance on facility services and their social impact, and from 2015 to 2022, rural public cultural service facilities in Henan Province experienced a growth trend, transitioning from a risk level to a sensitive one. In addition, this paper proposes an influence strategy for rural public cultural service facilities. The consistency of the solution of the four combined paths is 0.997715, 0.97225, 0.97815, and 0.96524, all > 0.8, which illustrates that the influence factors such as resource construction, government intervention, and economic security will have a propelling effect on rural public cultural service facilities. It shows that influencing factors such as resource construction, government intervention, and economic security, all have the effect of promoting rural public cultural service facilities.

Challenges in rural public transportation services in Ethiopia

Challenges in rural public transportation services in Ethiopia

Analysis of the impact of rural tourism culture on the improvement of the level of public services

Abstract This paper first evaluates and analyzes the level of public service development from the dimensions of public information service, public transportation service, and infrastructure service using the entropy value method. Then, it studies the correlation between rural tourism culture and public service level from a qualitative perspective and then uses the threshold regression model and dynamic panel model to test the impact of rural tourism and culture industry and rural tourism and culture resources on the high-quality development of public services. After testing, the regression coefficient value of rural tourism and culture industry on the high-quality development of public services is 0.786, and the impact of rural tourism and culture resources on the improvement of public service level is significant at the level of 10%. The specific impact of rural tourism and culture on the efficiency of public services is fully explored in this study, which provides a theoretical basis for optimizing the efficiency of public services.

Research on the Holistic Governance of the Digital Rural Public Service System

Research on the Holistic Governance of the Digital Rural Public Service System

Exploring Public Satisfaction in Rural Public Services: 2022 Case Study

This study investigates public satisfaction with service provision in Desa Larangan, Kecamatan Candi, Kabupaten Sidoarjo, focusing on nine key elements outlined in the Ministry of Administrative and Bureaucratic Reform's guidelines. Evaluating citizen satisfaction in areas ranging from requirements to infrastructure, the research surveys Organisasi Perangkat Daerah (OPD) and the Village Government as service recipients. Findings reveal an overall favorable assessment, showcasing a commendable service quality and performance with a Satisfaction Index of 79.02. Notably, infrastructure facilities garnered the highest average score (3.28), while requirements scored the lowest (3.02). This study highlights the positive quality of rural public service provision and underscores areas for potential enhancement, serving as a benchmark for governance optimization.
 Highlights:
 
 Comprehensive Assessment: Evaluated nine dimensions of service satisfaction.
 Favorable Findings: Overall positive performance with notable room for improvement.
 Governance Benchmark: Offers insights for optimizing rural service delivery.
 
 Keywords: Public Satisfaction, Service Quality, Rural Governance, Citizen Feedback, Administrative Performance

Research on the Application of Wechat Mini Program in Rural Revitalization – Taking Yanping Jukou Township in Nanping as An Example

In the current wave of digitization, the application of small programs has penetrated into the lives of urban residents. In the current environment of vigorously promoting digital rural construction in China, this article studies empowering rural public services with digital technology through WeChat mini programs to promote the extension and coverage of "Internet+government services" to rural areas, and focuses on solving practical problems in rural development. Through tourism, rural research, and other means, it expands the business of rural economic development and expands application scenarios, At the same time, the rural government module facilitates the lives of villagers and helps them become wealthy.

Spatial-Temporal Evolution Patterns and Obstacle Factors of Urban–Rural “Economy–Society–Ecology” Coordination in the Yangtze River Delta

Background: In the context of sustainable development, urban–rural integration is not solely focused on high economic growth but has been expanded to a wider range of social and ecological fields. Objectives: To analyze the spatial and temporal evolution of the coupling coordination level of urban–rural economic, social and ecological integration subsystems in the Yangtze River Delta and to explore its main obstacles, in order to provide countermeasures to promote the sustainable development of urban and rural areas. Methods: Panel data of 16 cities in the core area of the Yangtze River Delta from 2005 to 2020 were selected, and the entropy method was used to calculate the comprehensive development level of each subsystem, based on which the coupling coordination degree was measured by the coupling coordination model, and the obstacle degree of each indicator was obtained by the obstacle degree model. Outcomes: The urban–rural integration level kept a steady rise, and the “economy–society–ecology” coordination level transformed from borderline imbalances to moderate coordination. The high-value areas presented an initial “Π” shape distribution that later turned into a “>” shape, while the backward areas were primarily located at both ends of the north and south. The key obstacle factors included per capita GDP, population urbanization rate, urban and rural basic pension insurance coverage, faculty–student ratio in urban and rural primary and middle schools, per capita park green land, road network density and fertilizer application per unit area of sown. Recommendations: The systematic coordination of urban–rural integration should be promoted according to local conditions, with emphasis on broadening urban–rural communication channels, promoting the equalization of urban–rural public services and establishing the urban–rural collaborative mechanism for environmental maintenance.

Impacts of family care for children and the elderly on women's employment: evidence from rural China.

China's traditional culture makes rural women and men take on different family responsibilities. Use "China Family Panel Studies" (CFPS) data and build Logit and propensity score matching models to empirically study the impact of children care and elderly care on rural married women going out to work. And explore the welfare effects of basic education public services in helping rural women take care of their families. The results show that caring for children has a significant hindering effect on rural married women's job hunting. Especially for those in low-income families, the employment inhibition is most significant among women aged 20-30 with multiple children. Contrary to previous cognition, supporting the elderly has a certain weak stimulating effect. The kindergarten public services in rural areas can help women take care of their children and relieve their work pressure. The primary school public services have not played a role in alleviating them. This shows that there are still a large number of female laborers in rural China who are unable to go out to work due to family care. The improvement of rural basic education public services can promote more rural women going out to work. This finding will provide a policy reference for the introduction of a formal care system and the establishment of basic education public services in China.