The "Efficiency Paradox" and Regional Differentiation of Digital Governance: An Empirical Study Based on Rural Public Services in Jiangsu Province

Against the backdrop of the deep integration of the Digital China initiative and the rural revitalization strategy, exploring the impact of digital governance on the efficiency of rural public services and its regional differences is of great significance. Based on the "Technology-Institution-Efficiency" analytical framework, this paper systematically examines the main effect and regional heterogeneous characteristics of digital governance on the efficiency of rural public services by using panel data of 13 prefecture-level cities in Jiangsu Province from 2015 to 2024. The findings are as follows: First, digital governance significantly improves the efficiency of rural public services, yet it exhibits obvious non-linear characteristics and a critical threshold effect. Second, the impact shows a distinct regional gradient differentiation: southern Jiangsu, having entered the stage of "innovation and quality improvement", presents diminishing marginal returns and even a negative effect, thus needing to shift from scale investment to model innovation; central Jiangsu is trapped in a "transformation bottleneck" due to insufficient institutional coordination, where digital investment fails to be effectively converted into service efficiency; northern Jiangsu is in the driving period of "scale investment", and although the effect is not statistically significant, it demonstrates enormous potential marginal effects, requiring the filling of infrastructure gaps. Third, the deep-seated mechanisms leading to regional heterogeneity are the imbalance in resource allocation, the prominent digital divide, and inadequate institutional coordination. This paper puts forward differentiated policy recommendations: southern Jiangsu should focus on stock optimization and precise governance; central Jiangsu needs to break data barriers and enhance digital capabilities; northern Jiangsu should strengthen infrastructure and improve inclusive services.