Inclusiveness and Competitiveness Performance of Digital Financial Inclusion: From the Perspective of Regional Inequity
Yanan Pang, Qian Wang
Keywords:
digital financial inclusion; regional inequality; digital divide; regional competitiveness
Abstract:
With China's rapid economic development, disparities within provinces have increased, leading
to significant regional inequality. The goal of financial inclusion is to provide financial services
to lag-behind regions and disadvantaged groups to promote economic growth and enhance
competitiveness. Further investigation is needed to determine whether digital financial
inclusion has contributed to greater inclusion or aggravated regional inequality due to the digital
divide. The main aim of this study is to examine the inclusive effects and competitiveness gains
of digital financial inclusion from the perspective of regional inequality. By analyzing 23
Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2019 through the panel fixed effects model, the results support
the existence of a digital divide, which creates regional inequality. Further analysis of the
moderating effects reveals that the elimination of the digital divide by digital competitiveness
reduces the effect of regional inequality's impact on digital financial inclusion. The advantages
of digital financial inclusion to improve competitiveness are already beginning to emerge. This
paper reveals that digital financial inclusion has a non-linear threshold effect. At a time of rapid
growth in digital financial inclusion, it is crucial to be aware of the inequalities brought on by
the digital divide and, more importantly, to capture the beneficial effects of digital
competitiveness to enhance regional competitiveness.
Fulltext download:
 Inclusiveness and Competitiveness Performance of Digital Financial Inclusion: From the Perspective of Regional Inequity [PDF file] [Filesize: 185.44 KB]
 10.7441/joc.2023.04.04
Pang, Y. & Wang, Q. (2023). Inclusiveness and Competitiveness Performance of
Digital Financial Inclusion: From the Perspective of
Regional Inequity. Journal of Competitiveness, 15(4), 53-68. https://doi.org/10.7441/joc.2023.04.04
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