Digital Inclusive Finance,Financing Constraints and Investment Efficiency of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
By constructing a heterogeneous stochastic frontier model,using the digital inclusive finance index and the fi-nancial information of listed enterprises,this paper quantitatively examines the impact of digital inclusive finance on finan-cing constraints and uncertainties,and then estimates the investment efficiency of Chinese SMEs.The results show that Chi-nese SMEs face significant financing constraints,the investment efficiency decreases by 30%-40%due to the financing con-straints,with the average efficiency of 64%.Digital inclusive finance will help reduce SMEs'financing constraints and sig-nificantly improve the investment efficiency.This effect is more significant in the samples of enterprises in eastern regions and non-state-owned enterprises.However,the financing uncertainties and intensified financial market risks have been in-creased by digital inclusive finance.This paper enriches the research on digital inclusive finance to ease the financing con-straints and improve the investment efficiency,provides theoretical basis and policy enlightenment on how to better play the supporting role of financial markets for SMEs and promote high-quality economic development.
Digital inclusive financeFinancial constraintsInvestment efficiencyHeterogeneous stochastic frontier modelSmall and medium-sized enterprises