Theoretical Logic of Narrowing the Income Gap Between Urban and Rural Areas Through Live Streaming E-commerce

Zhengrun Jia

doi:10.62177/chst.v2i4.982

Authors

Zhengrun Jia University of Nottingham Ningbo China

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62177/chst.v2i4.982

Keywords:

Live-Streaming E-commerce, Urban-Rural Income Gap, Wage Income, Operating Income

Abstract

The urban-rural income gap remains a key global challenge, especially in China. Existing studies lack analysis on live-streaming e-commerce’s role in narrowing this gap. This paper first clarifies live-streaming e-commerce’s traits (high stickiness, fast sales, low returns) and status (China’s 2024 market scale: ~RMB 5.8 trillion). It then notes China’s urban-rural income gap widened from RMB 7,238 (2005) to RMB 31,069 (2024), rooted in unbalanced wage/operating income. Theoretical analysis reveals that live-streaming e-commerce narrows this gap by expanding employment to boost rural wage income and fostering industries to increase rural business income, offering developmental insights for emerging economies. This research provides empirical support for narrowing the urban-rural income gap to achieve rural revitalization, while also offering developmental insights for other developing countries.

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