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This article provides new evidence on the connection between e-commerce and rural household leverage in China. We find that e-commerce activities increase the leverage ratio of Chinese rural households significantly, especially in the west region, households headed by men, and households that have not experienced borrowing denials. The results are still robust when using an instrumental variable approach to solve endogenous problems. The findings suggest that participation in e-commerce may relieve the constraint of formal credit, which will boost the household leverage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses a dataset covering 928 small litchi growers in southern China to investigate the determinants of farmers' willingness to adopt digital pest and disease management (DPDM), focusing on smartphone use. An endogenous switching probit model is employed to address potential selection bias. The result confirms the positive role of smartphone use on willingness to adopt DPDM. Age, education, health, wealth, cooperative membership, and credit access are also associated with farmers' willingness to adopt DPDM. Moreover, we find that the determinants of smartphone users' and nonusers' willingness to adopt DPDM are different. Finally, we propose a digital inclusion agenda to promote rural smartphone adoption and use in agriculture. [EconLit Citations: Q16, Q18]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]