The impact of digital literacy on the urban integration of migrant workers

Abstract

Improving the urban integration of migrant workers is a crucial requirement for advancing people-centered new urbanization. Based on the micro-data of two China Family Panel Study (CFPS) in 2016 and 2018, this paper analyzes both theoretically and empirically the impact of digital literacy on the urban integration of migrant workers. The findings indicate that digital literacy plays a significant role in enhancing the urban integration of migrant workers; This effect is the strongest in terms of economic integration and relatively weak in terms of psychological integration. The results of the quantile regression show that the positive impact of digital literacy is more pronounced for groups with lower levels of urban integration compared to those with higher levels. Mechanism analysis reveals that digital literacy effectively improves urban integration by enhancing information access and facilitating social interactions. Heterogeneity analysis suggests that digital literacy has a more significant impact on the urban integration of low education levels, the new generation, and migrant workers from the eastern region. The conclusion enriches the theoretical research on the integration of migrant workers into urban areas in the digital age, and provides policy references for the government to attach importance to optimizing digital literacy education and further promote the comprehensive realization of the integration of migrant workers into urban areas.