How does internet use promote off-farm employment of rural laborers in China

Abstract

Boosting off-farm employment is an active strategy for developing countries to achieve economic growth and reduce income inequality. The internet has become an effective information tool for agricultural production and off-farm employment. This study uses the conditional mixed regression method and data gathered from ten Chinese provinces in 2021 and 2022. It investigates whether internet use promotes rural household laborers’ off-farm employment quantity and quality. The results show that internet use significantly enhances the off-farm employment quantity and quality among rural households. Specifically, compared with rural households that do not use the internet, those that use the internet increase the likelihood of the decision to participate and the intensity of participation in off-farm employment of rural households by 17.5 and 11.6 %age points, respectively. Furthermore, off-farm employment days and wages increase by 23.9% and 7.7%, respectively. It positively affects off-farm employment through an agricultural mechanization mechanism. Additionally, the effects are more pronounced among rural households that have more off-farm employment days, receive lower off-farm employment wages, are large-scale, and without dependency burden.