Empirical Research on Digital Technology Empowering Rural Industrial Diversity: An Analysis Based on County-Level Panel Data

Against the backdrop of the deep integration between the new round of technological revolution and the rural revitalisation strategy, digital technology has emerged as a crucial engine driving the diversified development of rural industries. This study employs Propensity Score Matching-Difference in Differences (PSM-DID) methodology, utilising panel data from 95 counties across China between 2018 and 2023, to empirically examine the impact of digital technology on rural industrial diversity and its underlying mechanisms. Findings indicate that the adoption of digital technology significantly enhances county-level industrial diversity, with an average effect of approximately 5.92%, a result that remains robust across multiple tests. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the enabling effects of digital technologies are more pronounced in economically developed counties with larger populations, reflecting the moderating roles of infrastructure, factor agglomeration, and market scale on technological impacts. Dynamic effect analysis further indicates that the diversity-enhancing effects of digital technologies exhibit a sustained strengthening trend, consistent with the long-term patterns of technology diffusion and human capital accumulation. This study provides empirical evidence for leveraging digital technologies to empower rural industrial transformation and offers policy insights for advancing digital rural development in a differentiated and systematic manner.