Digital inclusive financial services and rural income: Evidence from China's major grain-producing regions

Abstract

We investigate the income effects of the digital inclusive finance on rural residents in the main grain-producing regions of China. By matching the DIF of Peking University with the CLDS household questionnaire data, the baseline results indicate that digital inclusive finance has a significant positive effect on the income of rural residents in the main grain-producing regions. Further, we examine the potential mechanism through which digital inclusive finance affects rural residents' income, and our empirical results show that digital inclusive finance can contribute to rural residents' income growth in terms of entrepreneurship, financial investment, non-agricultural employment and mechanized production.