Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/316707 
Year of Publication: 
2025
Series/Report no.: 
IZA Discussion Papers No. 17752
Publisher: 
Institute of Labor Economics (IZA), Bonn
Abstract: 
This study investigates broadband internet's impact on rural-urban migration in China, using the Universal Broadband and Telecommunication Services pilot program as a quasi-experimental setting. Analyzing China Household Finance Survey data (2013-2021) through difference-in-differences estimation, we find that improved internet access significantly increased rural-urban migration. Effects were strongest in villages with initially low migrant populations, locations closer to county centers, and those with better road infrastructure. At the individual level, impacts were most pronounced among females, younger people, the more educated, and those from higher-income households. Increased attention to economic information, rather than enhanced e-commerce opportunities, appears to drive these migration decisions. Our findings suggest broadband creates "digital routes" facilitating outmigration rather than "digital roots" anchoring residents to rural areas.
Subjects: 
migration
urbanization
information and communications technology
China
JEL: 
O15
R2
L86
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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