A Study on the Impact of Digital Financial Inclusion on Sustainable Development Goals in China
(2025) NEKN02 20251Department of Economics
- Abstract
- With the promotion of global sustainable development, digital financial inclusion (DFI) possesses unique potential and significance in eradicating poverty (Sustainable Development Goal 1, SDG1), improving gender equality (Sustainable Development Goal 5, SDG5), and narrowing disparities among groups (Sustainable Development Goal 10, SDG10). Based on panel data from 31 Chinese provinces between 2012 and 2022, this paper explores the impact of DFI on China's sustainable development goals (SDGs). First, the analysis is conducted using the fixed effects model, showing that DFI has a significantly positive impact on SDG1, but the results are not significant for SDG5 and SDG10, and are more sensitive to model specifications. To identify the... (More)
- With the promotion of global sustainable development, digital financial inclusion (DFI) possesses unique potential and significance in eradicating poverty (Sustainable Development Goal 1, SDG1), improving gender equality (Sustainable Development Goal 5, SDG5), and narrowing disparities among groups (Sustainable Development Goal 10, SDG10). Based on panel data from 31 Chinese provinces between 2012 and 2022, this paper explores the impact of DFI on China's sustainable development goals (SDGs). First, the analysis is conducted using the fixed effects model, showing that DFI has a significantly positive impact on SDG1, but the results are not significant for SDG5 and SDG10, and are more sensitive to model specifications. To identify the influence mechanisms more precisely, a non-linear model was also introduced. The results indicate that there is a significant non-linear pattern between them, that is, the positive effect of digital financial inclusion begins to weaken or even reverse after a certain threshold is surpassed, indicating a risk of declining inclusiveness during the rapid advancement of DFI. Moreover, this study examines the moderating effects of internet penetration and bank concentration. The analysis reveals that bank concentration significantly mitigates the non-linear fluctuations of DFI on poverty reduction. However, Internet penetration does not exhibit a significant moderating effect, potentially due to the indicator's emphasis on access capacity, which may not accurately capture levels of digital literacy. Meanwhile, heterogeneity analyses, based on China’s four economic zones into the East, Central, West, and Northeast, reveal that the impacts of DFI on SDGs vary across different economic levels. This indicates that the implementation of regionally tailored policies is therefore essential. Finally, to further advance the goal of sustainable development, it is crucial that each region in China considers its development context and maintains digital financial inclusion within an appropriate range, thereby avoiding the adverse effects of overdevelopment. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9193874
- author
- Gong, Hailian LU and Hu, Fengfeng LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- NEKN02 20251
- year
- 2025
- type
- H1 - Master's Degree (One Year)
- subject
- keywords
- Digital financial inclusion, Sustainable development goals, China, Nonlinear effect
- language
- English
- id
- 9193874
- date added to LUP
- 2025-09-12 10:41:48
- date last changed
- 2025-09-12 10:41:48
@misc{9193874,
abstract = {{With the promotion of global sustainable development, digital financial inclusion (DFI) possesses unique potential and significance in eradicating poverty (Sustainable Development Goal 1, SDG1), improving gender equality (Sustainable Development Goal 5, SDG5), and narrowing disparities among groups (Sustainable Development Goal 10, SDG10). Based on panel data from 31 Chinese provinces between 2012 and 2022, this paper explores the impact of DFI on China's sustainable development goals (SDGs). First, the analysis is conducted using the fixed effects model, showing that DFI has a significantly positive impact on SDG1, but the results are not significant for SDG5 and SDG10, and are more sensitive to model specifications. To identify the influence mechanisms more precisely, a non-linear model was also introduced. The results indicate that there is a significant non-linear pattern between them, that is, the positive effect of digital financial inclusion begins to weaken or even reverse after a certain threshold is surpassed, indicating a risk of declining inclusiveness during the rapid advancement of DFI. Moreover, this study examines the moderating effects of internet penetration and bank concentration. The analysis reveals that bank concentration significantly mitigates the non-linear fluctuations of DFI on poverty reduction. However, Internet penetration does not exhibit a significant moderating effect, potentially due to the indicator's emphasis on access capacity, which may not accurately capture levels of digital literacy. Meanwhile, heterogeneity analyses, based on China’s four economic zones into the East, Central, West, and Northeast, reveal that the impacts of DFI on SDGs vary across different economic levels. This indicates that the implementation of regionally tailored policies is therefore essential. Finally, to further advance the goal of sustainable development, it is crucial that each region in China considers its development context and maintains digital financial inclusion within an appropriate range, thereby avoiding the adverse effects of overdevelopment.}},
author = {{Gong, Hailian and Hu, Fengfeng}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{A Study on the Impact of Digital Financial Inclusion on Sustainable Development Goals in China}},
year = {{2025}},
}