The Impact Of Digital Financial Inclusion Development On The Survivability Of SMEs

Small and medium-sized enterprises are an important part of the main body of the market economy,and the development of the national economy is inseparable from the participation of small and medium-sized enterprises.Under the traditional financial environment,my country’s SMEs face strong external financing constraints due to problems such as information asymmetry,high operating risks,poor anti-risk capabilities,and high debt financing costs.Financing constraints exacerbate the risk of companies withdrawing from the market,which makes the survival of my country’s small and medium-sized enterprises generally weaker and too short to survive.Sample survey data show that the average life expectancy of Chinese SMEs is only 2.5 years,while in the United States and Japan,the average life expectancy of SMEs is 8.2 years and 12.5 years respectively.The rise and development of digital financial inclusion provide a favorable opportunity for improving the viability of small and medium-sized enterprises,with the help of emerging technologies such as big data,cloud computing,and mobile payment,and diversified financing models such as P2 P online lending,crowdfunding financing,and supply chain finance.,The development of digital financial inclusion is conducive to alleviating the financing constraints of SMEs.Therefore,this article wants to study whether the development of digital financial inclusion can improve the viability of SMEs? After considering the differences in enterprise ownership and regional differences,does this kind of improvement still exist in the sub-sample enterprises? Does financing constraint play an intermediary effect in the path of the development of digital financial inclusion on the viability of SMEs? Solving these problems has certain practical significance for promoting the deepening of digital financial inclusion and promoting the survival and development of small and medium-sized enterprises.In order to solve the above problems,this paper analyzes the influence mechanism of the development of digital financial inclusion on the viability of SMEs based on the enterprise life cycle theory,long tail theory,information asymmetry and transaction cost theory,and financial development theory.Then,using the 2012-2018 financial data of small and medium-sized listed companies and the city-level digital financial inclusion index,factor analysis is used to calculate the viability of small and medium-sized enterprises,and a panel fixed-effect model is constructed to empirically test the development of digital financial inclusion on the viability of small and medium-sized enterprises.The intermediary effect model is used to test the intermediary effect of financing constraints,and the heterogeneity of the impact of the development of digital financial inclusion on the viability of small and medium-sized enterprises is studied from the perspectives of different ownerships and different regions.In addition,instrumental variables are used to solve endogenous problems,and the empirical results are tested for robustness by replacing key explanatory variables and increasing city-level control variables.This article mainly draws the following three conclusions: First,the development of digital financial inclusion has a significant positive impact on the viability of small and medium-sized enterprises.This conclusion is still valid after considering endogenous issues and conducting robustness tests.Second,the development of digital financial inclusion has improved the viability of SMEs by alleviating financing constraints.Digital financial inclusion expands the scope of financial services,improves the efficiency of financial supply,and reduces the transaction costs of financial activities,thereby alleviating the financing constraints of SMEs.The alleviation of financing constraints ensures that enterprises have sufficient funds to maintain production and operation activities,which is conducive to improving the viability of small and medium-sized enterprises.Third,the development of digital financial inclusion is heterogeneous in improving the viability of SMEs.Specifically,the development of digital financial inclusion has a stronger effect on improving the viability of private SMEs than state-owned SMEs,and it has a stronger effect on improving the viability of SMEs in the eastern region than in the central and western regions.Based on the above conclusions,this article puts forward corresponding policy recommendations: First,promote the deepening of digital financial inclusion.Traditional financial institutions have accelerated their digital transformation and increased their investment in financial technology.At the same time,emerging financial institutions focus on the optimization of digital inclusive financial products and services,and accelerate the construction of a diversified digital inclusive financial service provider platform.Second,establish a digital inclusive financial supervision system,set up entry thresholds for the digital inclusive financial industry,strengthen online supervision,and promote the healthy development of Internet financial platforms.Third,improve the digital inclusive financial infrastructure in the central and western regions,and increase the utilization rate of digital inclusive financial services by SMEs in the central and western regions.