金融科技与农村电子商务的集群发展-来自淘宝村的证据

Pacific-BasinFinanceJournal85(2024)102315

Contentslistsavailableat

ScienceDirect

Pacific-BasinFinanceJournal

journalhomepage:

/locate/pacfin

FinTechadoptionandtheclustereddevelopmentofrural

e-commerce,evidencefromTaobaoVillage

TongSu

a,

b,YanyangTao

c,JingyiWang

d,

e,

*

aCollegeofEconomicsandManagement,BaodingUniversity,China

bAzmanHashimInternationalBusinessSchool,UniversitiTeknologiMalaysia,Malaysia

cNationalSchoolofDevelopment,PekingUniversity,China

dSchoolofFinance,CentralUniversityofFinanceandEconomics,China

eInstituteofDigitalFinance,PekingUniversity,China

ARTICLEINFO

ABSTRACT

Keywords:

Fintech

E-commerce

Ruraldevelopment

Urbanization

Thisarticleusescounty-level,township-level,andvillage-levelpaneldatacoveringtheentirecountrytoprovetheroleofFinTechadoptioninpromotingthedevelopmentofrurale-commerce.Atthesametime,weusethedistancetothenearestGuanTempletothevillageasaninstrumentalvariabletofurtherprovethepositiveroleofFinTechadoptionwhileexcludingendogeneity.Theclustereddevelopmentmodelofrurale-commercefoundinselectedprovincesintheliteraturehasalsobeenprovenbyusatthenationallevel.Atthesametime,wefoundthattheaggregationeffectinter-county,intra-county,andintra-townhasgraduallyincreased,whichalsohelpsusmakeareasonableexplanationontheroleofFinTech.Tothebestofourknowledge,thisisthefirstpapertostudytheroleofFinTechadoptiononrurale-commerce.Utilizingsatellitedatacombinedwithstatisticsfromthebureau,weconstructedanannualurban-ruralclassificationindexwithasquarekilometerprecisioncoveringtheentirecountry.

1.Introduction

Overthepastdecade,theworldhaswitnessedtherapiddevelopmentofFinTech,whichhasprofoundlychangedourwayoflifeinmanyways.Asacountrywithalargepopulationanddepressedtraditionalfinancialsupport,ChinahasdevelopedrapidlyinFinTechandhasproducedaseriesofinternationallyrenownedBigTechs,suchasAntGroupandTencent.ManystudieshavefocusedontheinfluenceofFinTechontransactioncosts(

Becketal.,2018

;

KonteandTetteh,2023

),financingconditions(

Huangetal.,2020

)andconsumptioninequality(

YangandZhang,2022

).

Chinahas>500millionvillagersaccordingtoWorldBankdata,whichnotonlymeansthatthegoalofcommonprosperityisfacingadifficultchallenge,butalsomeansthattherearemoreopportunitiesfordevelopmentandpossibility.TheinclusivedevelopmentofFinTechisnotonlyreflectedintheprovisionofhigh-qualityserviceswithfairopportunitiesforruralresidentsorinfavoroftheserelativelybackwardareasintheprocessofsecondarydistribution,butthegreatervalueliesinprovidingruralareasandvillagerswithopportunitiesofdevelopmentinthefirstdistribution.Oneofthetypicalbusinessformatsisrurale-commerce.

Chinaisalsothecountrywiththemostdevelopede-commerceintheworld.Thankstoitsstrongmanufacturingcapacityandrapidlydevelopinginfrastructure,onlineshoppinghasalreadybecomeaninseparablepartofChinesepeople'sdailylife.Butwhatis

*Correspondingauthor.

E-mailaddress:

wangjingyi92@163.com

(J.Wang).

/10.1016/j.pacfin.2024.102315

Received6September2023;Receivedinrevisedform23December2023;Accepted27February2024

Availableonline11March2024

0927-538X/©2024ElsevierB.V.Allrightsreserved.

2

T.Suetal.

Pacific-BasinFinanceJournal85(2024)102315

oftenoverlookedbyconsumersisthatiftheychecktheproductionaddressesoftheirdailyonlineshopping,theseseeminglybeau-tifullypackagedprocessedfoods,decorations,clothes,evenmechanicalandelectronicproductsareactuallymanufacturedinruralareas.Intheworldofe-commerce,theroleofthecountrysideisdefinitelynottoprovidefreshagriculturalproducts,whichrequiresextremelyhighlogisticscosts,buttobeamoreabundantandpowerfulindustrialproductssupplier.

Taobao,asapioneerofe-commerceinChinaandoneofthelargeste-commerceplatformsnowadays,hasbeenevaluatingTaobaoVillagessince2013.Ifavillagesells>10millionRMBofgoodsontheAlibabaplatformwithinayear,andthereare>100activesellers,thenthisvillageiscalledaTaobaoVillage.Thisevaluationgivesusagoodperspectivetoobservethedevelopmentofrurale-commerceinChina.In2013,therewereonly20Taobaovillagesnationwide;by2022,therehavebeen>7000Taobaovillagesintotal.TaobaoVillageisanaffirmationoftheeffortsoflocalvillagerstogetrich,anditisalsoagoodentrypointforustostudyrurale-commerce.

ThispaperfocusesontheimpactoftheadoptionofFinTechonthedevelopmentofrurale-commerce.Ourinnovationsmainlylieinthreeaspects.Firstly,weshouldbethefirsttoanalyzetheimpactofFinTechonthedevelopmentofrurale-commerce.Secondly,weconductednationwideresearchinsteadoffocusingononeorafewregionslikemanyotherTaobaoVillagestudies,andwefocusedtheresearchgranularityoncounty-level,town-levelandevenall619,439villages,foranalysisatsuchafinescale,satellitedataandhigh-resolutionpopulationdataareused.Finally,wefoundaninterestingandeffectiveinstrumentalvariableintheanalysisofruralfinanceinChina,thedistancefromthevillagetothenearestGuanTemple;Inordertounderstandthedevelopmentphenomenon,wecon-ductedapreliminarydiscussiononthepromotionmechanismofFinTechforthedevelopmentofrurale-commerce.

Ourstudycontributestotheliteratureinthefollowingdirections:First,bystudyingtheimpactofFinTechadoptiononTaobaovillagesinChina,wediscoverthesignificantinfluenceofFinTechonthedevelopmentofrurale-commerce,whichaddstotheexistingliteratureone-commerce.Second,byanalyzingtheeffectsofFinTechontheagglomerationofTaobaovillages,wefindthatFinTechcanovercomethegeographicalconstraintsidentifiedinpreviousliteratureonspillovereffectsinagglomerationeconomies.OurfindingsdemonstratethatFinTechadoptioncangeneratesignificantspillovereffectsevenamongvillagesthatarenotgeographicallyadjacent.Third,usinganationwidedataatthevillage-level,weexploretheimpactofFinTechadoptiononregionaldevelopment,providinganewperspectiveforstudyingtheinfluenceofFinTechoneconomicactivity.

Ourpaperaddstotheliteratureonthedevelopmentofe-commerce.Theliteraturehasdocumentedavarietyofbenefitsofe-commerceforconsumers,includingofferingproductsatlowerprices(

BrynjolfssonandSmith,2000

),improvingthematchqualitybetweenconsumersandproducts(

Goldmanisetal.,2010

),andincreasingthenumberofproductvarietiesavailabletoconsumers(

Brynjolfssonetal.,2003

;

Dolfenetal.,2023

).Thesebenefitsmainlystemfromsellingproductsmanufacturedorproducedatarelativelylowcostincountriesorsectorstoconsumersworldwide.WithindevelopingcountrieslikeChina,asthedevelopmentofe-commerce,underdevelopedruralareashavebecomemoreinvolvedintheproductionsectorofe-commerce,withtheirmarketsbeingthemoreprosperouscities.Similarly,e-commercehasbroughttremendousbenefitstofarmersontheproductionside(

Courtoisand

Subervie,2015

;

Coutureetal.,2021

).However,thekeyfactorscontributingtotheformationofrurale-commerceremainanopenempiricalquestion.SeveralpapershavediscussedtheimpactofEducation(

Qietal.,2019

),EconomicConditions(

Liuetal.,2020

),andInformationandCommunicationsTechnology(

Zhouetal.,2021

)ontheemergenceofTaobaovillagesinsomeprovincesinChina.OurpaperemploysdatafromTaobaovillagesatthecounty-levelnationwideinChinatoinvestigatetheinfluenceofFinTechontheformationofTaobaovillages,highlightingthecrucialroleofFinTechinthedevelopmentofrurale-commerce.

Inaddition,ourpaperisrelatedtotheliteratureonspillovereffectinagglomerationeconomies.Theliteraturehasdocumentedvariousspillovereffectsofagglomerationeconomies,includingintheareasofcost,(

AmitiandCameron,2007

;

Combesetal.,2008

),productivity(

Combesetal.,2012

;

Greenstoneetal.,2010

),andinnovation(

AudretschandFeldman,1996

;

DurantonandPuga,2001

).Ingeneral,previousliteraturesuggeststhatspillovereffectsinagglomerationeconomiesprimarilyoccuramonggeographicallyproximateareas.However,wefindthatwiththedevelopmentofFinTech,spillovereffectsinrurale-commercearenotonlyobservedamongneighboringvillagesbutalsoextendtonon-adjacentvillageswithinthesamecounty.ThisimpliesthatspillovereffectsinagglomerationeconomiesmaybelessconstrainedbygeographicaldistancewiththeinfluenceofFinTech.

Furthermore,ourpapercontributestothegrowingliteratureontheimpactofFinTechoneconomicactivity.Regardingthefirmperspective,priorstudieshaveexaminedtheeffectsofFinTechontransactioncosts(

Becketal.,2018

;

KonteandTetteh,2023

)andfinancingconditions(

Gambacortaetal.,2023

;

Huangetal.,2020

).Fromthehouseholdside,

Suri(2017)

documentthattheintro-ductionofmobilemoneyindevelopingeconomiescanreducepovertybyprovidingdigitalfinancialtransactionsforbothindividualswithbankaccountsandthosewithoutbankaccounts.Additionally,

YangandZhang(2022)

employChinesehouseholddatatofindthatFinTechcouldreduceconsumptioninequality.Moreover,

Surietal.(2021)

findthathouseholdsinKenyacanenhancetheirfinancialresiliencetoshocksbyutilizingdigitalloans.OurpaperdiffersbydiscussingtheroleofFinTechadoptiononthedevelopmentofrurale-commerceatvillage-level,whichprovidesanewperspectiveontheinfluenceofFinTechonregionaldevelopment.

Therestofthepaperisorganizedasfollows.ThenextsectionprovidesbackgroundinformationonthedevelopmentofFinTechadoptionande-commerceinvillagesinChina.

Section3

describesourdata.Empiricalstrategyispresentedin

Section4

.

Section5

presentsanddiscussestheresultswhilethe

Section6

concludes.

2.Background

2.1.FinTechdevelopmentinChinaandmeasurement

Inthepasttenyears,China'sFinTechhasexperiencedadevelopmentcyclerarelyseenintheworld:arapidgrowth,prosperitybutalwaysaccompaniedbydoubtsandelimination.Differentfromthedevelopmentmodelofsomeothercountrieswithdigitalcurrencyandblockchainasthemainform,thedevelopmentofChina'sFinTechismainlyreflectedinpaymentandcredit:makingdigital

3

T.Suetal.

Pacific-BasinFinanceJournal85(2024)102315

accountsbenefitmorepeople:makingthosewhoareaccustomedtocashpaymenttousethemobilepayfrequently,andmakingthosewhohavedifficultygettingloansfrombankscanobtainsuitablefinancialservices.Ontheonehand,thisisbecauseChinaisstilladevelopingcountry,andtherearealargenumberoflow-incomepeopleinneedofcheaper,low-thresholdfinancialservices.Ontheotherhand,itisbecausetraditionalfinancehasbeendepressed.Asaresult,manyChineseindustryandacademicliteraturerefertodigitalfinanceasdigitalinclusivefinance.

ThePekingUniversityDigitalFinancialInclusionIndexofChina(PKU-DFIIC)(

Guoetal.,2020

)isthestate-of-artmeasurementofFinTechadoptioninChina.Itwasoriginallypublishedin2016andkeptupdatingyearly.Itisconstructedbasedonanextensivecollectionofmicro-leveldata.Digitalinclusivefinancereferstotheutilizationofinnovativetechnologiessuchasintelligentalgo-rithms,bigdata,andcloudcomputing,alongsidetheexpansionofinclusivefinancialservicesbytraditionalfinancialinstitutions,tofurtherenhancethecoveragebreadthanddepthoffinancialservices.Thecompilationofthisindexencompassestheperiodfrom2011to2021encompassing31provinceswithinmainlandChina,over337citiesatorabovetheprefecturelevel,andapproximately2800counties.Moreover,theframeworkofthePKU-DFIICisconstructedaroundthreedimensions:theFinTechcoveragebreadthindex,theDepthofusageindexandtheLevelofDigitalization,thedetailsareshownin

Table1

.Throughthisindex,trendsindigitalinclusivefinancedevelopmentacrossdifferentregionsofChinabecomediscernible.Onthewhole,thisdevelopmentexhibitsatendencyto-wardsregionalconvergence,wheredevelopmentindistinctregionsgraduallyaligns.Concurrently,theindexalsorevealsstrongspatialagglomerationandspatialheterogeneity,implyingthatdigitalinclusivefinancemaybeconcentratedordifferentiatedincertainregions.ThepurposeofusingthisindexistofurnishfoundationaldataforresearchpurposesandhelpourstudygainamorescientificandaccurateunderstandingofthedevelopmentofdigitalinclusivefinanceinChina.

TheDigitalInclusiveFinanceIndexhasgarneredover3800citationsbytheendof2023,establishingitselfasavaluabletoolforresearchersinvestigatingFinTechdevelopmentsinChina.However,itisobservedthatfewofthesestudiesutilizecounty-leveldata,whichweattributetotwomainconstraints.Firstly,theadministrativecitycanbedividedintocounty,county-levelcityandurbandistrict.Thedata'stimespanforcountyandcounty-levelcitydata,startingfrom2014,lagsbehindthatofprovincialandcitydata,whichbeganin2011.Furthermore,countyurbandistrictdataisavailablefrom2016onwards.Thistimespandiscrepancylimitstheapplicabilityofcounty-leveldata,andposeschallengesinourstudy.Secondly,theindexprovidesadministrativecodesonlyforthe2014version.GiventhesubstantialdevelopmentalchangesandfrequentrenamingthathaveoccurredoverthepastdecadeinChina,utilizingthisdatabecomesprogressivelychallenging.However,forourresearchfocusingonvillage-level,thedatastartingfrom2014doesnotimposesignificantlimitations.Additionally,intheprocessofcompilingdataforvillage-leveladministrativeunitsacrosstheentirecountry,theindex'sprovisionof2014administrativecodesdonothinderourresearchefforts.

Inourstudy,wemainlyfocusontheLevel1indexCoverageBreadthandDepthofUsage,sincethosetwoaredirectmeasurementsofFinTechadoptionwhiletheLevelofDigitalizationmeansdevelopmentexpectationsandendorsement.CoverageBreadthrepresentstheextenttowhichpeopleintheregionareservedbyFinTechservices.WhiletheDepthofUsagewillbehighifpeopleinthisregionusetheFinTechservicesmorefrequently.

2.2.Rurale-commerceinChina

China'se-commercehasexperiencedrapiddevelopmentinthepasttwodecades.ComparedwithFinTech,itseemstohavecausedlesscontroversybecausepeoplecanintuitivelyfeelthate-commercehasbroughtthemcheaperandmorediverseproducts.Comparedwithe-commerceinothercountriessuchastheUnitedStates,China'se-commercealsohasasignificantdifference:betweenthosegiantswithfamousbrands(likeProcter&Gamble,Uniqlo)andthoselessprofessionalindividualsellers(liketypicalsellersoneBay),therearealargenumberofsmallandmedium-sizedprofessionalsellersinChina'se-commerce,theirannualturnoverrangesfromhundredsofthousandstohundredsofmillionsofyuan,theyhavetheirownsmallbrandsanduseaslowaspossiblepricetooffernotbadmerchandiseintheirfocusedfields.Thekeytotheiroperationistomasterthesupplychaintoachieveextremecostreductiontowinthoseprice-sensitiveconsumers.

Suchadevelopmentmodelgivesrurale-commerceanopportunity.Ontheonehand,China'sruralareashaveextremelylowlaborcostsandlandcosts,andatthesametime,ruralareashavereceivedmorepreferentialpoliciesandrapidlyupdatedinfrastructure,especiallyaftertheStrategyofRuralVitalizationproposedin2017.Ontheotherhand,manyruralareashavealonghistoryofin-heritanceandprocessingexperienceinfoodprocessingandhandicrafts.Villagesinsomeareasevenhaveconsiderableindustrialfoundationsandskilledcraftsmen(likeclothingandfurnituremanufacturing).Thee-commerceplatformallowstheseruralsellerstocommunicatedirectlywithbuyersacrossthecountry,whichenhancestheirpopularity,increasesconsumerwelfareandsellerprofits,andenablestheseruralproducerstoadapttomarketchangesmoresensitively.

TaobaoVillagegivesusagoodopportunitytostudyrurale-commerceinChina.Taobaoisthebiggeste-commerceinChinafor>10years.Theconceptof“TaobaoVillages”isanannuallistedandpublicationbasedonspecificcriteriasetbyAli-Research.

1Itisprimarily

basedonthreekeycriteria:ItisorganizedaroundtheadministrativevillageunitinChinagovernment;itsannuale-commercesalesexceed10millionRMBontheTaobaoplatform;andithasatleast100activeonlineshopsor10%ofthelocalhouseholdcountengagedinonlinecommerce.Moreover,theannouncementofthelistofTaobaoVillagesisdonewithoutpriornoticetothelocalgovernmentorresidents.Typically,Alibabarefrainsfromprovidingadditionalassistanceorinterventiontothedesignated“TaobaoVillages”.Thelist'sreleaseanddesignationprocessareconductedindependently,maintainingalevelofimpartialityandensuringthatlocal

1ThehomepageofTaobaoVillage(inChinese)is

/cn/activity/taobaoVillage

4

T.Suetal.

Table1

IndexSystemofPekingUniversityDigitalFinancialInclusionIndexofChina(PKU-DFIIC).

a

Pacific-BasinFinanceJournal85(2024)102315

Level1

Level2

Specificindicators

Coveragebreadth

AccountCoverage

Rate

NumberofAlipayaccountsownedper10,000people

ProportionofAlipayuserswhohavebankcardsboundtotheirAlipayaccounts

DepthofUsage

Payment

AveragenumberofbankcardsboundtoeachAlipayaccount

Numberofpaymentspercapita

Amountofpaymentspercapita

Proportionofnumberofhigh-frequencyactiveusers(50timesormoreeachyear)tonumberof

userswithafrequencyatleastonceeachyear

NumberofYu'ebaopurchasespercapita

AmountofYu'ebaopurchasespercapita

NumberofpeoplewhohavepurchasedYu'ebaoper10,000Alipayusers

Numberofuserswithaninternetloanforconsumptionper10,000adultAlipayusersNumberofloanspercapita

Totalamountofloanspercapita

Numberofuserswithaninternetloanforsmallµbusinessesper10,000adultAlipayusersNumberofloanspersmallµbusiness

Averageamountofloansamongsmallµbusinesses

Numberofinsuredusersper10,000Alipayusers

Numberofinsurancepoliciespercapita

Averageinsuranceamountpercapita

Numberofpeopleengagedininternetinvestmentandmoneymanagementper10,000AlipayusersNumberofinvestmentspercapita

Averageinvestmentamountpercapita

Numberofcreditinvestigationsbynaturalpersonspercapita

Numberofuserswithaccesstocredit-basedlivelihoodservices(includingfinance,accommodations,mobility,socialcontacts,etc.)per10,000Alipayusers

MoneyFunds

Credit

Insurance

Investment

Credit

Investigation

IndividualUser

Small&

Micro

Businesses

Levelof

Digitalization

Mobility

Affordability

Credit

Convenience

Proportionofnumberofmobilepayments

Proportionoftotalamountofmobilepayments

Averageloaninterestrateforsmallµbusinesses

Averageloaninterestrateforindividuals

ProportionofnumberofAntCheckLaterpayments

ProportionoftotalamountAntCheckLaterpayments

Proportionofnumberof“ZhimaCreditasdeposit”cases(tonumberoffulldepositcases)Proportionoftotalamountof“ZhimaCreditasdeposit”(toamountoffulldeposit)

ProportionofnumberofQRcodepaymentsbyusers

Proportionof“averageamount”or“totalamount”ofQRcodepaymentsbyusers

aTheindexsystemisdesignedin

Guoetal.(2020)

inChinese,weusetheEnglishversiontranslatedby

YangandZhang,2022

.

authoritiesandresidentsarenotprivytotheinformationinadvance.

Table2

presentsthenumberofnewlyemerged“TaobaoVillages”inkeyprovinces(Zhejiang,Guangdong,Jiangsu,Hebei,ShandongandFujian)foreachyear.ItcanbeclearlyseeninthistableshowsthatthenumberofnewlyTaobaoVillageshasexplosivegrowthafter2017.Inaddition,apronouncedregionalconcentrationisevidentwithinthedistributionof“TaobaoVillages”.Thetopsixprovincesaccountforasignificant89%ofthetotalcount.Lastly,startingfromtheyear2020andonwards,thereisarapidaccelerationinthegrowthof“TaobaoVillages”inprovincesbeyondthetopsix.Thisanalysishighlightsthedynamicevolutionof“TaobaoVillages”overtimeandthesignificantinfluenceofregionalfactorsintheirdistribution.Thesurgeingrowthpost-2017suggestsaperiodofintensifiedrurale-commercedevelopment,potentiallylinkedtofactorssuchasincreaseddigitalconnectivityandchangingconsumerbehaviors.Moreover,theconcentrationof“TaobaoVillages”withinahandfulofprovincesunderscorestheroleoflocalconditionsandpoliciesinshapingtheproliferationofe-commerceactivity.Thesubsequentsurgeinotherprovincesinrecentyearscouldbeindicativeofabroaderdiffusionofe-commercepracticesbeyondtheinitialconcentratedareas.

3.Data

Thedatawehaveemployedforouranalysisencompassesthreemaincategories.Firstly,weutilizedtheTaobaoVillagesdataset,whichwasmadepublicbytheAli-ResearchInstitute.Thisdatasetservesasacrucialtoolforgaugingtheprogressandevolutionofrurale-commerce.Itprovidesinsightsintothegrowthofonlinecommerceinruralareas,sheddinglightontheextenttowhichdigitalplatformslikeTaobaohavepenetratedandtransformedtraditionalruraleconomies.IntandemwiththeTaobaoVillagesdata,wecollectedcomprehensiveinformationpertainingtoallvillage-leveladministrativeunitsacrossmainlandChinafortheyear2022.ThisdatasetincludesessentialvariablessuchastheChinesenamesoftheseadministrativevillages,theircorrespondingadministrativecodes,urban-ruralidentificationcodes,andprecisegeographicalcoordinates.Thisgranulardataallowsustonotonlygeographicallycontextualizeouranalysisbutalsotoexplorepotentialcorrelationsbetweenadministrativeclassifications,geographiclocations,andtheadoptionofdigitalfinancialservices.Second,weusedthePekingUniversityDigitalFinancialInclusionIndexofChina(PKUDFIIC)toassessthestateofdigitalfinancialdevelopment.Thisindexservesasarobustmeasureoftheextentandeffectivenessofdigitalfinancialservices'accessibilityandadoptionacrossdifferentregions.Byintegratingthisindex,wecangaininsightsintotheoveralldigitalfinanciallandscapeinconjunctionwithourevaluationofrurale-commercedevelopment.Thisholisticapproachhelpsus

5

T.Suetal.

Table2

newly

Thenumberof

provinces

foreach

“TaobaoVillages”inselected

year.

Pacific-BasinFinanceJournal85(2024)102315

Total

2014&before

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Zhejiang

2297

57

176

163

232

307

320

474

398

170

Guangdong

1438

48

97

97

185

185

174

289

225

138

Jiangsu

787

24

89

65

65

160

123

147

85

29

Hebei

740

19

31

28

48

66

112

187

164

85

Shandong

735

13

38

36

100

86

53

179

194

36

Fujian

668

28

40

41

91

41

77

163

118

69

Others

818

3

16

14

40

40

56

237

304

108

Total

7483

192

487

444

761

885

915

1676

1488

635

comprehendhowadvancementsindigitalfinancialservicesmightcorrelatewiththepenetrationofonlinemarketplacesinruralareas.Finally,ouranalysisbenefitsfromtwoadditionaldatasources.WeharnessednighttimelightdatasourcedfromtheNationalOceanicandAtmosphericAdministration(NOAA)tobetterunderstandpatternsofeconomicactivityandurbanization.Thisdatasetoffersaproxyforeconomicvibrancyandinfrastructuredevelopment,allowingustoexplorepotentialconnectionsbetweeneconomicin-dicatorsandtheproliferationofdigitalservicesinruralregions.Furthermore,weintegratedhigh-resolutionpopulationdatafromColumbiaUniversity,whichaidsusinaccountingfordemographicfactorsthatcouldinfluencebothdigitalfinancialinclusionande-commercegrowth.

Inconclusion,ouranalysisdrawsonamultifaceteddatasetcomprisingtheTaobaoVillagesdata,comprehensiveadministrativevillagesinformation,thePekingUniversityDigitalInclusiveFinanceIndex,nighttimelightdata,andpopulationdata.Thisricharrayofdataenablesustoexploretheintricateinterplaybetweenrurale-commercedevelopment,digitalfinancialservices,economicdynamics,anddemographicfactors,contributingtoacomprehensiveunderstandingofthetransformationalprocessesunderwayinChina'sruralareas.

3.1.TaobaoVillagesandChinavillagesdata

Weobtained619,439village-levelAdministrativeDivisionCodes(ADCODEs)fortheyear2022fromtheNationalBureauofStatisticsofChina.

2Subsequently,byusingthe“GaoDeapp”,whichistheleadingelectronicmapservicesupplierinChina,weob

-tainedtheaddressescorrespondingtothesevillages(orneighborhoodcommitteesinurbanareas).Followingthis,amulti-stepprocesswasemployedtomatchthesevillageswiththelistpublishedbytheAli-ResearchInstitute,withtheassistanceofGaoDe'sAPI,naturallanguageprocessingtools,andmanualverification.Asaresult,wesuccessfullyidentified7483“TaobaoVillages”basedonthe2022ADCODEs.Thesedeviationsinthefinalcountof“TaobaoVillages”couldbeattributedtoseveralfactors.Onekeyfactorisvillagesconsolidation,whichhasbeenaprevalenttrendinChinaoverthepastdecade,leadingtoareductioninthenumberofvillage-leveladministrativeunits.Additionally,somevillagesthatbecameTaobaoVillagesmayhavebeenrenamedwithoutretrospectivelyupdatingthe2022list(exceptincaseswhereavillagewasupgradedtoaneighborhoodcommittee).Furthermore,throughoutourresearchweidentifiedasubstantialnumberoftypographicalerrorsandinstanceswheresimplifiednameswereusedinthelistpublishedbyAli-Research.Thesediscrepancieswereaddressedappropriatelyinourstudytoensuredataaccuracyandconsistency. AccordingtotheNationalBureauofStatisticsofChina(NBS)