The Impact of Digital Rural Construction on Nighttime Economic Vitality

• Article

• Open access

• Published: 08 August 2026

• Xialing Sun1,2,

• Peidong Shi3,

• Jiaxi Wu4&

• …

• Zheng Meng3

Humanities and Social Sciences Communications (2026) Cite this article

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Abstract

As a key engine driving the high-quality development of agriculture and rural areas, digital rural construction plays a pivotal role in the structural extension of the nighttime economy from urban to rural areas. This study systematically examines the influence mechanism between digital rural construction and the prosperity of the nighttime economy by constructing a two-way fixed effects model, a threshold regression model, and a spatial Durbin model. The findings reveal the following three key insights: (1) the construction of digital rural facilities effectively drives the growth of the nighttime economy by reducing market transaction costs and fostering new consumption patterns, with this effect being particularly prominent in economically developed regions; (2) environmental quality and balanced urban–rural development exhibit nonlinear moderating effects on the enabling role of digital technologies, as when air pollution concentrations and the urban–rural income gap exceed specific thresholds, the marginal promotion effect weakens significantly; and (3) digital rural construction has a significant positive effect on the local nighttime economy, but its impact on nonlocal nighttime economies is insignificant. High-quality development of the nighttime economy can be promoted by balancing digital infrastructure, implementing differentiated environmental governance, and optimizing the urban–rural income distribution. This study provides a new theoretical perspective and research reference for rural economic prosperity in the era of the digital economy.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Social Sciences Fund of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (No. 24QN03), the Startup Project for Advanced Talents of Shihezi University, China (NO. RCSK202502), the Maintaining Stability and Guarding the Border Think Tank Project of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (No. 24BTZKYB16), the Talent Program “Tianchi Talent” in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2024M761858), the Shandong Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. SDCX-RS-202500040), the National Statistical Science Research Project (No. 2025LY068), and the Shandong Provincial Natural Science Foundation (No. ZR2026QC0665).

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Authors and Affiliations

1. School of Public Health, Shandong Second Medical University, Weifang, China

Xialing Sun

2. School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Beijing, China

Xialing Sun

3. School of Economics and Management, Shihezi University, Shihezi, China

Peidong Shi&Zheng Meng

4. School of Economics and Management, Beijing Institute of Petrochemical Technology, Beijing, China

Jiaxi Wu

Authors

1. Xialing Sun
2. Peidong Shi
3. Jiaxi Wu
4. Zheng Meng

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Jiaxi Wu or Zheng Meng.

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Ethical approval was not required as the study did not involve human participants.

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Sun, X., Shi, P., Wu, J. et al. The impact of digital rural construction on nighttime economic vitality. Humanit Soc Sci Commun (2026). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-026-08656-0

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• Received: 26 August 2025

• Accepted: 31 July 2026

• Published: 08 August 2026

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-026-08656-0