Research On The Impact Of Digital Financial Inclusion On The Urban-rural Income Gap

The high-quality development of an economy and society is not only reflected in the continuous growth of the total economic volume,but also in the fruits of development that are shared by the majority of residents.Therefore,a reasonable income distribution pattern is an important guarantee for sustained economic development.However,the excessively high urban-rural income gap has become a characteristic fact in our country's economy and society,and it is an important constraint for the sustainable development of our country's economy.The emergence of digital inclusive finance(DIF)in recent years has provided a new perspective for finance to help narrow the urban-rural income gap.The rapid development of mobile Internet and the rapid popularization of smart phones have created a solid foundation for digital technology.On this basis,with the convenience of digital technology and the security advantages of financial services,DIF quickly occupy the financial market,and has had a huge impact on the financial system.DIF acquires customers through e-commerce or social networks,and provides financial services on the basis of achieving wide coverage.The bottom-up service approach makes it directly oriented to the broad customer groups excluded by traditional finance,so it is inherently inclusive.DIF is mainly aimed at disadvantaged groups excluded by traditional finance.Rural residents with low incomes are naturally among its goals.Consolidating the urban-rural income gap should also be one of the responsibilities of DIF.So,does DIF affect the urban-rural income gap?If there is an impact,what is the effect? This article mainly studies this problem.This article reviews the theories and literature related to DIF and urban-rural income gap,combs the context of the development of DIF,and defines the concept of DIF.Secondly,by analyzing the reasons for the formation of the urban-rural income gap and the conditions for convergence,it is deduced that finance plays an important role in it and the limitations of traditional financial development,and further guides the effect of the development of DIF on urban-rural income gap.Besides of this,a theoretical model was constructed to further visualize the relationship between DIF and urban-rural income gap.At the same time,the real situation is introduced into the analysis of the problem,and it is pointed out that under the conditions of the huge digital divide,the impact of DIF on the urban-rural income gap will appear heterogeneous.In the empirical analysis link,using our country's macro data,using panel regression models,spatial econometric models,threshold regression models,instrumental variables and other econometric model tools,empirically test the impact of our country's DIF on the urban-rural income gap with structural effects,spatial effects and threshold effects.Based on the combination of qualitative analysis and quantitative analysis,the following conclusions are drawn:First of all,DIF can significantly reduce the income gap between urban and rural areas,but the convergence effect has a structural effect,which is manifested in the heterogeneity of the convergence effect of coverage,depth of use,and digitalization.At the current level of development,the coverage of the use of digital technology and the use of digital financial services have narrowed the urban-rural income gap,while the convenience brought by digitalization has widened the urban-rural income gap.There are also differences in the effects of DIF services with different functions on the urban-rural income gap.Digital payment,which is a basic function,and microinsurance,online lending,which are the dominant function,provide more targeted financial services to rural residents and alleviate the lack of finance in rural areas has narrowed the income gap between urban and rural areas;while microfinance,which is a derivative business,is more conducive to increasing the income of urban residents,so it has widened the income gap between urban and rural areas.Small investment and digital credit reporting currently have a negative impact on the income gap between urban and rural areas,but the impact is not obvious.Secondly,the effect of DIF in reducing the urban-rural income gap is spatially heterogeneous.The effect is obvious in the eastern region,and the impact on the western region is lower than that in the eastern region and the national average,while the effect on the central region is minimal.There are also spatial differences in the convergence effects of the development of different dimensions of DIF.The effect of breadth development is consistent with the overall index,and depth development is generally effective,but has no significant impact on all regions.The development of digitalization has even expanded the urban-rural income gap in the eastern region..At the same time,DIF and the urban-rural income gap show obvious spatial positive correlation,and the development of DIF also exhibits a spatial spillover effect.While converging the local urban-rural income gap,it widens the urban-rural income gap in neighboring regions.The development of DIF is path dependence on the development of digital technology and traditional finance,and its spatial agglomeration effect is also transmitted by the agglomeration of the two,while it mainly depends on the development of digital technology.Finally,multiple threshold effects are the main reason for the influence and alienation of DIF on urban-rural income disparity.The digital divide forms the digital threshold,which also has an impact on the effect of DIF in converging the income gap between urban and rural areas.The specific performance is the first-level digital threshold formed by the ownership rate of mobile phones that represent whether digital technology can be used,and the secondary digital threshold formed by the technology's Internet access rate that represent whether digital technology is used or not.When the first-level digital threshold is crossed,the convergence effect of DIF on the urban-rural income gap weakens,and when the secondlevel digital threshold is crossed,the convergence effect is strengthened.The development of traditional finance may weaken the impact of DIF on the urban-rural income gap,but the current financial threshold effect is not yet obvious.The impact of rural residents' income level on DIF has a significant income threshold effect.As the income of rural residents increases,the convergence effect of DIF on the urban-rural income gap will also increase.Based on the above conclusions,this article puts forward targeted policy recommendations and prospects for the follow-up research work.