How Does Digital Finance Use Affect the Wealth of Rural Households:An Empirical Analysis Based on the Survey Data of944 Rural Households in Five Provinces in Central and Western China
Based on the survey data of 944 rural households in five provinces in central and western China,this paper empirically studies the overall effects,transmission mechanisms,threshold effects and individual heterogeneity of digital finance use on the wealth accumulation and wealth inequality of rural households.The results show that during the study period digital finance use can significantly promote the wealth accumulation and alleviate the wealth inequality of rural households,and household entrepreneurship and non-agricultural employment are two important transmission mechanisms.The impacts of digital finance use on the wealth accumulation and wealth inequality of rural households have a double-threshold effect based on digital literacy and a single-threshold effect based on financial literacy.Further analysis shows that the impacts of digital finance use on wealth accumulation and wealth inequality of rural households significantly vary among rural households with different wealth scales,levels of wealth inequality,different risk preferences,and different education levels,as well as between poverty alleviation households and non-poverty alleviation households.The important implication of this paper is that in order to give full play to the role of digital finance in promoting the wealth accumulation and alleviating the wealth inequality of rural households,it is necessary to accelerate the improvement of the highly adaptable rural digital inclusive financial service system,focus on optimizing the rural digital financial business environment,and continuously improve the digital literacy and financial literacy of rural households through differentiated policies.
Digital Finance UseWealth AccumulationWealth InequalityDigital LiteracyFinancial Literacy
万方数据
