Abstract:

Based on the perspective of labor skill characteristics, this paper analyzes the impact mechanism of digital technology development on the income disparity between high and low-skill industries. Empirical tests are conducted using panel data from 136 prefecture-level cities in China spanning 2013 to 2022. The research indicates that digital technology development widens the income gap by promoting skill-biased technological progress while simultaneously narrowing it through increasing the supply of high–skill labor and enhancing industry interconnectivity. The net effect demonstrates that digital technology significantly exacerbates the income gap during the sample period, exhibiting a lag effect. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that market integration, institutional segmentation, government education investment, as well as regional and temporal disparities all differentially modulate digital technology's impact on the income gap. This study offers new research perspectives and policy insights for promoting common prosperity and reducing inter-industry income inequality.

Key words:

digital technology, inter-industry wage gap, labor skills, common prosperity