Rural revitalization in China: Measurement indicators, regional differences and dynamic evolution

Area of Science:

• Rural revitalization studies
• Regional economic development
• Sustainable development in China

Background:

• Assessing China's rural revitalization is crucial for understanding its evolution.
• Existing research may lack comprehensive spatial-temporal analysis of rural revitalization levels.

Purpose of the Study:

• To construct an indicator system to measure rural revitalization in China from 2011-2021.
• To explore the spatial-temporal divergence and dynamic evolutionary characteristics of rural revitalization.

Main Methods:

• Entropy weight method for indicator system construction.
• Dagum Gini coefficient for regional differences analysis.
• Kernel density estimation for dynamic evolution analysis.

Main Results:

• Rural revitalization level in China is low but increasing, with regional disparities favoring the East.
• Ecological livability scores highest across dimensions; regional gaps are narrowing.
• Overall growth is balanced, but Eastern China exhibits polarization.

Conclusions:

• The study provides an objective assessment of rural revitalization in China, highlighting strengths and weaknesses.
• Findings offer policy recommendations for stable and comprehensive rural revitalization.
• Understanding regional and dimensional variations is key for targeted development strategies.