Poverty Reduction Effects And Regional Differences Of Digital Inclusive Finance From The Perspective Of Relative Poverty

The effective solution of poverty problem has always been the direction of the efforts for the Party and the state.And the problem of absolute poverty,which has plagued China for many years,has been eliminated in 2020,which means that China’s poverty problem has changed from absolute poverty to more complex relative poverty.Therefore,solving the relative poverty problem will become a major strategic task facing our country for a long time.As a combination of emerging digital technologies and financial services,the rise and rapid growth of digital inclusive finance not only deepens the traditional inclusive finance,but also provides effective ideas to alleviate relative poverty caused by unequal opportunities and rights.What role digital inclusive finance will play in alleviating relative poverty and what effective mechanism it will play are worthy of in-depth theoretical discussion and scientific verification.Besides,it is of great significance to promote the balanced development of digital inclusive finance in China,to improve the digital inclusive finance system,to achieve poverty reduction in the post-poverty alleviation era and rural revitalization.In terms of research objects,most existing literatures focus on the poverty reduction effect of financial services on rural areas or rural families,and most scholars focus on the relationship between traditional financial services and absolute poverty.In view of the characteristics of relative poverty distribution,this paper expands the research object from rural areas to both rural and urban areas.Based on theoretical and empirical research,digital inclusive finance and relative poverty are combined to explore the poverty reduction mechanism and regional differences.In terms of research data,this paper will further expand the research fixed number of years,and starting from the multidimensional nature of relative poverty,focusing on the income,education,health and the rights of "relative deprivation",using the variation coefficient method to determine the specific weight of four dimensions,obtained the final weighted sum on behalf of relative poverty to represent the overall data,rather than measuring relative poverty by income alone.From the perspective of relative poverty,this paper uses Peking University Digital Financial Inclusion Index(2011-2020)to verify the effect and mechanism of digital inclusive finance in alleviating relative poverty,and explore the regional differences of digital inclusive finance in alleviating relative poverty.To be specific,the panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020 were used to explore the following questions by using the fixed effect model :(1)The impact of digital inclusive finance on relative poverty at the national level.(2)Direct and indirect mechanisms of digital inclusive finance to alleviate relative poverty.(3)The impact of digital financial inclusion on relative poverty varies in different regions.The following conclusions are drawn from the study :(1)Digital finance can effectively alleviate relative poverty;(2)Digital inclusive finance can not only directly reduce relative poverty through its three sub-dimensions,but also indirectly reduce relative poverty through economic growth and optimization of income distribution;(3)In terms of the overall index of digital inclusive finance,there are significant regional differences in its effect on relative poverty reduction: the eastern region has the greatest effect,followed by the western region,and the central region is at the bottom.In terms of the specific three sub-dimensions,the regional difference in poverty reduction effect is not as obvious as that of the overall index.Combined with the empirical results,the following countermeasures are propose:(1)Based on the needs of relatively poor groups,vigorously develop digital inclusive finance,achieve balanced development between regions,and give full play to the direct poverty reduction effect of digital inclusive finance;(2)Promote the virtuous cycle of economic growth and digital inclusive finance,improve the income distribution system,and make full use of the indirect mechanism of digital inclusive finance to alleviate relative poverty;(3)Improve the regulatory system of digital inclusive finance to protect the rights and interests of relatively poor users.