The Impact of Rural Enterprise Park Policy on the Income of Rural Residents: Evidence from China

Abstract

Improving the income of rural residents plays an important part in sustainable rural development. Using a difference-in-difference (DID) approach and Chinese counties’ data from 2014 to 2019, this paper evaluates the effects of the rural enterprise park policy on the income of rural residents. We find that the policy significantly promotes rural residents’ income, and a series of additional tests suggest that the effects appear robust. We also find that stimulating entrepreneurial activities serves as a channel through which the policy affects rural incomes. Finally, the policy effects are mainly significant for counties with a higher level of human capital, a younger demographic age structure, and a higher level of financial development.