A Study of policy simulation of bridging urban-rural digital divide for promoting Shaanxi´s urbanization

The existence of the digital divide between urban and rural areas has impeded the urbanization development process in Shaanxi. The study combines the system dynamics to policy simulation methods to establish the simulation model of influence of Shaanxi urban and rural digital gap on the urbanizing procedure. This study considers four policies to narrow the digital divide. They are IT infrastructure investment and IT software resources investment gap between urban and rural areas, basic education investment gap and information technology skills training investment gap between urban and rural residents. By the single and combined policy simulation, the scheme to advance the urbanization in Shaanxi can be determined. The study concludes with proposals in favor of gap reduction, whose important one is to establish a comprehensive and diversified system of skill training for the rural regions.