The Unintended Outcome Attainment of Urban Community Digital Infrastructure on Entrepreneurship in China

Abstract

This paper utilizes data from “Survey on Rural Revitalization in Guangdong Province” and employs two classification methods, namely engineering type and service type, to cluster the data at the community level. Finally, a probit regression analysis is conducted to empirically analyze the relationship between residents’ entrepreneurial choices and digital infrastructure. The research findings are as follows: (1) Integrating digital technology into transportation, energy usage, water supply, and environmental protection in urban communities significantly cultivates entrepreneurial opportunities. (2) After considering covariates, all types of engineering digital infrastructure exhibit a significant and substantial increase in entrepreneurial activities. (3) Entrepreneurial returns on urban center digital infrastructure are higher than other areas, with proximity to city centers positively correlated with higher entrepreneurial returns. (4) The distance between entrepreneurship location and residential area amplifies the impact of residential digital infrastructure on entrepreneurial efforts. In conclusion, the externalities of innovation and entrepreneurship in urban community digital infrastructure are highly stable. Improvements in community digital infrastructure not only expand residents’ opportunities for entrepreneurship but also significantly enhance their likelihood of engaging in entrepreneurship. Community digital infrastructure enhances efficiency in information flow, resource allocation, and factor circulation which leads to optimistic expectations among residents regarding entrepreneurship. As a result, there is an increase in the proportion of residents engaged in entrepreneurship.