The Impact of Data Elements on Narrowing the Urban-Rural Consumption Gap in China: Mechanisms and Policy Analysis

Abstract

The urban-rural consumption gap, as one of the important indicators in social development, directly reflects the imbalance in urban and rural economic and social development. Data elements, as an important component of New Quality Productivity, are of significant importance in promoting economic development and improving people's living standards in the information age. This study, through the analysis of fixed-effects regression models, system GMM regression models, and the intermediate effect model, found that the development level of data elements to some extent promotes the narrowing of the urban-rural consumption gap. At the same time, the intermediate variable of urban-rural income gap plays an important role between data elements and consumption gap, with a significant intermediate effect. The results of the study indicate that the advancement of data elements can promote the balance of urban and rural residents' consumption levels by reducing the urban-rural income gap, providing theoretical support and policy recommendations for achieving common prosperity and promoting coordinated urban-rural development. Building upon this, this paper emphasizes the complex correlation between the development of data elements and the urban-rural consumption gap, and puts forward policy suggestions such as promoting the development of the data element market, strengthening the construction of the digital economy and e-commerce, and promoting integrated urban-rural development. Overall, the development of data elements is not only an important path to reducing the urban-rural consumption gap but also one of the key drivers for promoting the balanced development of China's economic and social development. This study has a certain theoretical and practical significance for understanding the mechanism of the urban-rural consumption gap and improving policies for urban-rural economic development.