The technology dividend and the digital divide: A political economy analysis of the impact of the digital economy on income inequality in China
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/nstw9r71Keywords:
digital economy, technology dividend, digital divide, income gap, income inequality.Abstract
As the economy grows, the digital economy has had a profound impact on multiple fields in China, particularly on the income gap. Some research believes that the digital economy helps reduce the income gap, while others disagree. This research aims to determine the impact of the development of the digital economy on the income gap within China. The research uses the literature review method to examine the impact of the digital economy, as well as analyzes typical cases to display the observation. The conclusion is that the digital economy has dual influences on the income gap, whereas, in the long run, the digital economy has a greater impact on decreasing the income gap in China. The research also points out the salient role of the government in regulating the digital economy.
Downloads
References
[1] Bai, K., & Wang, Y. 2025. E-commerce, foreign trade and common prosperity in ethnic areas. Journal of Inner Mongolia Normal University (Natural Science Edition) 54(01): 17 – 26.
[2] Budnitz, H., & Tranos, E. 2021. Working from home and digital divides: resilience during the pandemic. Annals of the American Association of Geographers 112(4): 1 – 21.
[3] He, X., & Sun, J. 2024. Can expanding the scale of higher vocational education narrow the urban-rural income gap? – Empirical analysis based on provincial panel data. Vocational Education 23(33): 39 - 47.
[4] Jiang, Q., Li, Y., & Si, H. 2022. Digital economy development and the urban–rural income gap: intensifying or reducing. Land 11 (11): 1980.
[5] Man, X., & Yu, X. 2023. New ideas for agricultural economic development in the context of e-commerce development. Hubei Agricultural Sciences 62 (04): 202 - 205.
[6] Xu, L., Jia, N., Jia, Y., & Lang, X. 2023. Research on the mechanism of e-commerce promoting rural revitalization: Based on a survey of Taobao Village. Logistics Research (03): 54 - 63.
[7] Xu, W., Shi, R., & Zhuo, J. 2025. The impact mechanism and spatial effect of the digital economy on urban-rural income gap. East China Economic Management 39 (01): 84 - 94.
[8] Tu, W. 2024. Research on the protection of labor rights and interests of delivery riders in the platform economy. Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics.
[9] United Nations. 2024. Goal 1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere. United Nations Sustainable Development; United Nations. https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/poverty/.
[10] Zhao, Q., & Ye, Q. 2024. An empirical study on the impact of digital economy on the income gap between urban and rural residents. Shangye Jingji (12): 12 - 37.
[11] Zhao, W., & Zhang, F. 2024. Study on the effect of urban and rural income distribution in digital economy. Journal of Shandong University of Finance and Economics 36 (05): 88=103.
[12] Zhong, Y., Lai, I. K. W., Guo, F., & Tang, H. 2021. Research on government subsidy strategies for the development of agricultural products e-commerce. Agriculture 11 (11): 1152.
[13] Zhu, Q. 2025. Research on economic advantages and monopoly governance of e-commerce platform. Market Modernization (02): 58 - 61.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Highlights in Business, Economics and Management

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.







