How does digital literacy promote farmland scale operation by rural households? Evidence from three provincial-level regions in western China

Whether the penetration of digital technology into rural areas translates into improved farm-household performance has important implications for the construction of the digital countryside and the reform of land institutions. Using first-hand survey data on 1050 farm households in western China, this study constructs a digital literacy index using the entropy-weight TOPSIS method along three dimensions, namely, digital access, entertainment use, and productive use, and examines its effect on farmland scale operation. Results reveal that digital literacy significantly promotes the expansion of farmland scale operation, and the finding survives a series of robustness tests. The effect is notably “production-oriented”: the coefficient of productive digital literacy is significantly positive, whereas those of digital access and entertainment use are insignificant, confirming that the digital divide has shifted from an “access divide” to a “usage divide.” The mechanism analysis indicates that digital literacy promotes farmland scale operation by expanding bridging and bonding social capital and improving digital credit access. The heterogeneity analysis illustrates that the effect is concentrated among households with higher educational qualification and who actively participate in village collective affairs, demonstrating the risk that digital dividends are unevenly distributed toward advantaged groups. Accordingly, the policy focus of digital countryside construction should shift from promoting access to cultivating productive use, supported by low-threshold training, village-based organizational platforms, and inclusive digital credit, to bridge not only the access gap but also the capability gap in digitalization.