The Role of Digital Governance in Fostering County-Level Digital Entrepreneurial Vitality: A Quasi-Experimental Analysis of China’s Information Accessibility Pilot

Jingli Zheng, Xuanming Zhang and Jue Wang ()
Additional contact information
Jingli Zheng: College of Economics and Management, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China
Xuanming Zhang: College of Economics and Management, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China
Jue Wang: College of Economics and Management, Chongqing Normal University, Chongqing 401331, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 20, 1-26

Abstract: Digital entrepreneurship, driven by digital technology and the digital economy, is a vital pathway for high-quality economic development. In China, the “National Pilot Policy of Information Accessibility” has been a key initiative to advance digital governance. Using enterprise registration data from 1206 counties during 2010–2020 and employing a difference-in-differences framework, this study evaluates the policy’s impact on county-level digital entrepreneurial vitality. Results show that the pilot significantly stimulates entrepreneurship, with robust evidence from multiple tests including placebo, PSM-DID, and controls for other policies and the pandemic. Mechanism analysis reveals three main channels: enhancing regional innovation capacity, optimizing employment structure, and strengthening infrastructure. Heterogeneity tests indicate stronger effects in western counties with weaker governance and resources, while impacts in eastern regions are less pronounced. These findings highlight the importance of government digital governance in narrowing regional gaps and fostering inclusive digital transformation. The study provides theoretical and empirical insights into how government-led digital initiatives can energize local entrepreneurship, support structural upgrading, and promote high-quality development in the digital era.

Keywords: government digital governance; digital entrepreneurship; county-level entrepreneurial activity; difference-in-differences model; rural sustainable development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/20/9096/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/20/9096/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:20:p:9096-:d:1770932

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().