The Impact of Financial Support on Rural E-Commerce: An Intermediary Effect Test Based on Information Infrastructure Construction

To examine how financial support influences the development of rural e-commerce, this study analyzes panel data from 31 Chinese provinces (2011−2022) using a two-way fixed-effects regression model and a mediation-effect framework. Our findings indicate that financial support exerts a significant positive effect on rural e-commerce growth, both directly and indirectly via improvements in information infrastructure. Specifically, network infrastructure fully mediates this relationship, while telecommunications infrastructure serves as a partial mediator. Moreover, the strength of financial support’s impact varies across regions with different levels of financial investment, combined growth in rail and road transportation, and primary-industry development. These results suggest that, alongside increasing financial support, policymakers should prioritize information-infrastructure expansion and tailor strategies to local conditions to foster robust rural e-commerce development.