Assessing the impact of rural E-commerce on regional poverty alleviation: A spatial spillover analysis

China's innovative and sustainable e-commerce poverty alleviation model has not only generated significant social and economic value but also serves as an effective practical case for global poverty reduction. This study employed 611 counties in contiguous poverty-affected areas in China from 2011 to 2022 as valid research samples. It adopted the Spatial Autoregression Model, Spatial Error Model, and Spatial Durbin Model to examine the impact of rural e-commerce on the quality of poverty alleviation, spatial spillover effects, and regional heterogeneity in contiguous poverty-affected areas. The results indicate that rural e-commerce improves the quality of poverty alleviation in local regions and has a spatial spillover effect on the quality of poverty alleviation in adjacent regions. Moreover, significant regional heterogeneity exists in the direct promotion and spatial spillover effects of rural e-commerce on the quality of poverty alleviation in contiguously poor areas. Specifically, in the impoverished areas of eastern, central, and northeastern China, rural e-commerce not only enhances the quality of poverty alleviation in the local region but also has a positive spillover effect on the poverty alleviation quality of neighboring regions. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for rural e-commerce to consolidate the achievements of poverty alleviation and align them with rural revitalization efforts.