Impact of Digital Literacy on Rural Residents’ Subjective Well-Being: An Empirical Study in China

Congxian He, Ruiqing Shi, Huwei Wen and Jeffrey Chu ()
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Congxian He: Soviet Area Revitalization Institute, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China
Ruiqing Shi: School of Marxism, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang 330022, China
Huwei Wen: School of Economics and Management, Nanchang University, Nanchang 330031, China
Jeffrey Chu: Center of Applied Statistics, School of Statistics, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China

Agriculture, 2025, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-25

Abstract: The United Nations Organization states that well-being consists of universal goals and aspirations in human life throughout the world. The arrival of the digital age has a profound impact on humans’ way of production and life. While material living standards continue to improve, happiness has become the pursuit of social residents. Based on the theory of happiness economics, we use the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data to construct an Ordered Probit fixed-effect model and systematically investigate the dividend and disparities of digital literacy on rural residents’ subjective well-being in China, such as age, gender, region, education attainment, and so on. The results indicate that digital literacy significantly strengthens rural residents’ subjective well-being. Under the influence of digital literacy, subjective well-being is heterogeneous in individuals’ natural and social attributes. Further mechanism tests show that rural residents’ digital literacy strengthens subjective well-being through income generation, consumption upgrading, and social belonging effects. In consequence, the government should promote the construction of digital infrastructure, focus on the penetration and quality of digital technology, digital skill education and training, and guiding residents to utilize digital technology properly. Our study furthers the understanding of residents’ well-being and highlights digital literacy as a means to boost well-being, reduce regional development gaps, and support sustainable development.

Keywords: rural residents; digital literacy; subjective well-being; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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