Digital Government Construction and Common Prosperity in China: Effect and Transmission Channel

How to achieve common prosperity has become the key to enhancing residents’ well-being in digital government construction (DG), which is particularly important for developing countries with relatively large income gaps. Using Chinese provincial panel data from 2018 to 2023, this study employs the entropy weight method and two-way fixed effects models to empirically examine the nonlinear impact of digital government development on common prosperity. This study has found that DG has a significant U-shaped impact on common prosperity, which first inhibits and then promotes. This effect operates primarily through improving digital inclusive finance and increasing education expenditure. Regional heterogeneity analysis indicates that the U-shaped relationship is more significant in the eastern region. From a single dimension of DG, service supply capacity and service intelligence capacity have a significant U-shaped impact on common prosperity. This study enriches the theory of the relationship between DG and common prosperity, providing policy references for promoting common prosperity and sustainable development.