网络基础设施建设对城乡收入差距的影响研究 ——基于“宽带中国”战略的准自然实验

Research on the Impact of Network Infrastructure Construction on the Income Gap between Urban and Rural Areas：A Quasi‐Natural Experiment Based on the“Broadband China” Strategy

摘要:

城乡收入差距的存在是城乡发展不均衡的重要体现，缩小城乡收入差距是我国实现 2035 年远景目标的必然要求。本文基于 2005—2018 年 285 个地级及以上城市的数据，将“宽带中国”战略作为一项准自然实验，利用倾向得分匹配双重差分（PSM?DID）模型评估网络基础设施建设对城乡收入差距的影响。研究结果表明：第一，“宽带中国”战略对城乡收入差距的影响系数显著为负值，即网络基础设施建设缩小了城乡收入差距，经过一系列稳健性检验后结论依然可靠。第二，网络基础设施建设显著缩小了中西部城市、南方城市、大中城市和传统基础设施水平较高城市的城乡收入差距，对其他城市的城乡收入差距没有显著影响。第三，网络基础设施主要通过互联网用户规模效应和数字普惠金融效应传导机制缩小了城乡收入差距。因此，要继续贯彻“宽带中国”战略的实施，发挥示范城市的带头作用，通过增加互联网用户规模、推动数字普惠金融的发展来缩小城乡收入差距。

Abstract:

The existence of urban?rural income gap is an important manifestation of the uneven development of urban and rural areas.Narrowing the income gap between urban and rural areas is an inevitable requirement for achieving the 2035 long?term goal. Based on the data of 285 cities at prefecture level and above from 2005 to 2018，this paper takes the“Broadband China”strategy as a quasi?natural experiment and uses the PSM?DID model to assess the impact of network infrastructure construction on the urban?rural income gap. The results show as follows. First，the influence coefficient of the“Broadband China”strategy on the urban?rural income gap is significantly negative. That is，the construction of network infrastructure has narrowed the income gap between urban and rural areas. After a series of robustness tests，the conclusion is still reliable. Second，the construction of network infrastructure has significantly reduced the urban?rural income gap in cities in the central and western regions，southern cities，large and medium?sized cities，and cities with relatively high levels of traditional infrastructure. There is no significant impact on the urban?rural income gap in other cities. Third，the network infrastructure has narrowed the urban?rural income gap mainly through the scale effect of Internet users and the transmission mechanism of digital financial inclusion. Therefore，the“Broadband China”strategy should continue to be implemented.Model cities should take the lead. Narrow the income gap between urban and rural areas by increasing the scale of Internet users and promoting the development of digital financial inclusion.