From Buffering to Transformation: Unpacking the Spatio-Temporal Dynamics of Livelihood Resilience in China’s Key Revolutionary Base Areas

Against the backdrop of intensifying global uncertainties, enhancing the livelihood resilience of urban and rural residents is of paramount importance for promoting balanced regional development. This research establishes a 29-indicator evaluation system based on a three-dimensional analytical framework encompassing “buffering, adaptive, and transformative capacities”. resilience capacities. Utilizing county-level panel data from five pivotal former revolutionary base areas, specifically the Jiangxi–Fujian–Guangdong Former Central Soviet Area, Sichuan–Shaanxi Revolutionary Base Area, Shaanxi–Gansu–Ningxia Revolutionary Base Area, Dabie Mountains Revolutionary Base Area, and Zuojiang–Youjiang Revolutionary Base Area regions spanning from 2011 to 2023, through the integrated application of methodologies, including entropy weighting, kernel density estimation, the Theil index, and convergence analysis, we systematically examine the spatio-temporal variations and evolutionary mechanisms of livelihood resilience. Research findings indicate a general enhancement of livelihood resilience in old revolutionary base areas, albeit with notable regional disparities, presenting a tiered pattern characterized by Jiangxi–Fujian–Guangdong leading, Dabie Mountains and Sichuan–Shaanxi regions being intermediate, while Shaanxi–Gansu–Ningxia and Zuojiang–Youjiang areas lag behind. Buffering capacity predominates, while regenerative capacity constitutes the critical driver of regional disparities. The overall regional disparities are primarily driven by internal differences, with significant conditional β-convergence observed in livelihood resilience. This study proposes sustained advancement in infrastructure development to consolidate buffering capacity, a reinforcement of public services and technological innovation to enhance adaptive and regenerative capabilities, and the implementation of differentiated governance strategies, thereby fostering an overall improvement in livelihood resilience and coordinated regional development in old revolutionary base areas.