Impact of Internet Use on The Income Gap Among Farmer: A Social Capital-Based Analysis of The Mediating Effect

Abstract

Yun Zhu and Xiaoyan Peng

Based on 2010, 2013 and 2015 CGSS data, the impact of Internet use and social capital on the income gap among farm- ers in the past five years is assessed at three time points using the OLS method and a quantile regression method. The study finds that the income gap among farmers increases continuously in the five-year period, while Internet use plays a positive impact on farmers’ income growth in all five quartiles; the coefficient differences are all significantly negative, indicating that Internet use plays a positive role in alleviating the income gap between high-income and low-income farmer subgroups, and social capital plays a positive role in moderating the income gap among farmers and that Inter- net use by farmers expands the boundary of social capital, which in turn increases the income level of and alleviates the income gap among farmers.

PDF