Research On The Effect Of Digital Inclusive Finance On Relative Poverty

In 2020,China had solved the problem of absolute poverty,which had plagued the Chinese nation for thousands of years,and moved closer to achieving the goal of common prosperity.However,the elimination of absolute poverty under the current standard does not mean that poverty does not exist.On the contrary,it means that the country will enter a new course of poverty reduction with the core goal of alleviating relative poverty.In recent years,the government has strongly supported the use of financial means to solve the problem of poverty.In the 14 th Five-Year Plan(2021-2025)and the No.1 Central Document of 2023,clear instructions have been made on financial poverty alleviation.On the basis of overcoming the characteristics of traditional finance,digital inclusive finance extends the radius of financial services and effectively improves the depth,breadth and temperature of finance,which has become a key means to alleviate relative poverty.Therefore,under the realistic background of achieving the goal of common prosperity,it is of certain theoretical value and practical significance to combine digital inclusive finance and relative poverty,and conduct in-depth discussion on their effects and mechanisms.Based on financial development theory,long tail theory,transaction cost theory and income distribution theory,this paper establishes a theoretical analysis framework to clarify the general characteristics and theoretical correlation between digital inclusion finance and relative poverty.On this basis,an econometric model is built to demonstrate the impact and mechanism of digital inclusive finance on relative poverty.The conclusions are as follows:First,theoretical analysis shows that digital inclusive finance affects relative poverty through four channels: economic growth,industrial structure upgrading,trade opening and urbanization.Second,from the relationship test,digital inclusive finance is the Granger cause of economic growth,industrial structure upgrading,urbanization and trade opening,while economic growth,industrial structure upgrading,urbanization and trade opening are the Granger cause of relative poverty.Thirdly,in terms of impact test,the development of digital financial inclusion in the sample period has a significant promoting effect on the alleviation of relative poverty,but the mitigation effect has regional heterogeneity.The development of digital financial inclusion in the central and western regions has a significant positive promoting effect on the alleviation of relative poverty.The development of digital inclusive finance in the eastern region also has a positive effect on alleviating relative poverty,but the effect is not significant.In addition,the Shapley value decomposition shows that the development of digital financial inclusion contributes more to the reduction of relative poverty in central and western regions than in eastern regions.Fourthly,in terms of mechanism test,digital inclusive finance has a significant positive promoting effect on alleviating relative poverty by promoting economic growth mechanism,optimizing industrial structure mechanism and promoting urbanization mechanism.This is the driving force of current digital inclusive finance in alleviating relative poverty.However,the performance of digital inclusive finance in expanding trade opening is inconsistent with theoretical expectations.It has become the constraint and restraining link of digital financial inclusion to alleviate relative poverty.Based on the research conclusion,the following four policy suggestions are put forward:first,strengthen the construction of information technology infrastructure in the central and western regions,continuously deepen and consolidate the popularization of the Internet,and improve the hardware conditions of digital inclusive finance to alleviate relative poverty;Second,make digital financial inclusion more sustainable,ease restrictions on the flow of factors,and release the impact of trade opening on alleviating relative poverty.Third,based on the self-development perspective of poor groups,improve the literacy of poor groups in the application of digital inclusive finance,popularize the knowledge of Internet,mobile payment and finance,alleviate the "tool exclusion",narrow the digital divide,and create a good environment for digital inclusive finance to alleviate relative poverty;Fourth,improve the financial regulatory system,establish a sound system and mechanism with low thresholds and high penalties,ensure the legitimate and reasonable rights and interests of digital financial inclusion users,give full play to the role of digital inclusive finance in guaranteeing funds for poor groups,and improve the risk avoidance ability of digital inclusive finance in alleviating relative poverty.