Core Explanatory Variable Indicators.

Although digital inclusion is globally recognized as a key pathway to equitable development, rigorous empirical evidence on its specific mechanisms and regionally varying effects in driving urban-rural integration in developing countries remains scarce. To fill this gap, this study employs a fixed-effects model and robustness checks to analyze the impact of digital inclusion on urban-rural integration, using evidence from China. The findings show that digital inclusion enhances urban-rural integration by reducing information asymmetry, improving access to education and healthcare resources, and fostering industrial convergence. However, digital inclusion exerts a significant positive effect on urban-rural integration in eastern and central China, but has no significant effect in western China. These findings challenge the conventional view that digital policies have a homogeneous impact and emphasize the need for spatially differentiated interventions. By integrating an analysis of these mechanisms with an examination of regional disparities, this research advances theoretical understanding of digital inclusion’s societal effects and provides critical empirical support and policy insights for developing countries aiming to develop regionally differentiated digital inclusion strategies.尽管数字包容（digital inclusion）已在全球范围内被公认为实现公平发展的核心路径，但针对发展中国家数字包容推动城乡融合的具体作用机制与区域异质性效应，严谨的实证研究仍较为匮乏。为填补这一研究空白，本研究以中国为研究样本，采用固定效应模型与稳健性检验方法，分析数字包容对城乡融合的影响效应。研究结果显示，数字包容可通过降低信息不对称、改善教育与医疗资源可及性、促进产业融合三大路径推动城乡融合发展。不过，数字包容对中国东部与中部地区的城乡融合具有显著正向影响，但对西部地区的影响并不显著。这一研究结论挑战了“数字政策影响具有同质性”的传统观点，并强调制定空间差异化干预措施的必要性。本研究将机制分析与区域差异考察相结合，深化了对数字包容社会效应的理论认知，同时为发展中国家制定区域差异化数字包容战略提供了重要的实证支撑与政策启示。