Search Results (259)

Digital inclusive finance has grown rapidly in China in recent years, yet its effect on agricultural economic resilience remains debated. This study investigates the effect of digital inclusive finance on agricultural economic resilience, focusing on the mediating role of rural industry integration. Using annual panel data covering 29 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2021, we employ two-way fixed-effect panel regressions, mediation analysis, threshold analysis, instrumental variable estimation, and spatial econometric models. The results show that digital inclusive finance has a significant negative effect on agricultural economic resilience, and this finding is robust across alternative specifications and instrumental variable estimations. Rural industry integration serves as an important transmission channel, with the indirect effect accounting for approximately one-third of the total effect. The two stages of this mediation pathway are moderated by distinct threshold variables: rural digital infrastructure positively moderates the effect of digital inclusive finance on rural industry integration, while government fiscal support negatively moderates the effect of rural industry integration on agricultural economic resilience. The spatial analysis further reveals that digital inclusive finance generates negative spatial spillovers onto neighboring provinces. Based on these findings, we suggest that the government continue to invest in rural digital infrastructure, guide digital finance toward rural industry integration in underdeveloped regions, and maintain fiscal support at an appropriate level to preserve the vitality of integrated industries. Full article

In the digital economy era, digital inclusive finance represents a paradigmatic reconstruction of key economic information flows. This study integrates multi-source panel data of 27 cities in the Yangtze River Delta from 2011 to 2023. By constructing an economic geography composite spatial weight matrix and a nonlinear spatial panel model, this study analyzes the impact of the diffusion of digital inclusive financial information on industrial structure upgrading. The results show that: (1) digital financial inclusion exerts a significant direct effect and spatial spillover effect on industrial structure; (2) the local effect exhibits a “U-shaped” curve with an accelerating characteristic on the right side; the spatial spillover effect demonstrates an “inverted U-shaped” curve, revealing the transformation law and threshold effect of the diffusion and aggregation of digital financial information benefits; (3) digital payment and digital credit constitute the core information flows driving the coordinated upgrading of industries; and (4) entrepreneurial activity exerts a partial mediating effects, and exhibits a spatial mediating effect, while the technological innovation only demonstrates a significant local mediating effect. The findings provide quantitative evidence to support the optimization of the digital financial information ecosystem and the realization of coordinated industrial upgrading in the Yangtze River Delta. Full article

This study examines the association between digital payments adoption and reliance on cash in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC), as well as its potential implications for financial inclusion. Using microdata from the 2021 Global Findex Survey for 17,498 adults, logit models and average marginal effects are estimated to assess this relationship according to income, gender, age, education, rural-urban location, and internet access. The results show that the use of digital payments is associated with a lower probability (9.7 percentage points) of using cash, a statistically significant and robust effect among different population groups. People with less education, older age, and limited access to the internet are more dependent on cash, while income differences are less pronounced than expected. Counterfactual simulations consistently show lower reliance on cash among digital payment users, regardless of socioeconomic status. The study provides new microeconomic evidence for the LAC by quantifying the association between digital payments and cash use and analyzing its heterogeneity between socioeconomic groups. Sustainable financial inclusion is not measured by a composite indicator or as an independent variable; it is used as an interpretative framework to analyze whether the adoption of digital payments is associated with less dependence on cash and greater interaction with formal financial channels. Policy implications suggest strengthening payment interoperability, digital trust, financial education, and consumer protection to expand integration into formal financial channels. Full article

In this research, the primary aim is to conduct a systematic review of the thematic evolution of green finance, which remains fragmented and unevenly represented in global academic debates. The objective of this analysis is to scientifically map out the scholarly output on green finance from 2015 to 2026, detailing its intellectual structure, trends, thematic clusters, and emerging lacunae in the field. Primary data extraction from Web of Science was employed to construct the bibliometric database, whereas the identification, screening, and selection of the final dataset were conducted in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines to ensure the study’s transparency and reliability. The main findings highlighted an increasing scholarly interest in the field’s publications from 2019 onward. Key occurrences and citation maps, using RStudio (version 4.1) and Biblioshiny (version 4.5.2), indicate dispersed clusters comprising sustainability transitions, digital finance, bibliometric methods, and a weak link to governance and behavioral perspectives. The co-authorship and country analyses confirm a pronounced geographic imbalance of green finance-related research in academia, with an overrepresentation in the Global North and an underrepresentation in Africa, Latin America, and the MENA region. The analysis further emphasizes the growing role of institutional and ESG regulatory frameworks in shaping research trajectories, while also identifying a limited integration of emerging technological dimensions such as digital finance and artificial intelligence. Thus, the study’s contribution to the literature relies on its critical understanding and structuring of the field’s evolution. The implications include synthesizing research gaps and the need for outcome-oriented impact assessments and mechanism-based models of green finance to ensure significant inclusivity and resilience in the subject’s future agenda. Full article

Digital payment and settlement markets operate as interconnected financial systems shaped by institutional, technological, and capability-based elements. This study examines how digital transformation and digital financial inclusion interact within this system to influence Sustainable Digital Payment and Settlement Market Performance (SDPSMP), with DeFi adoption capability acting as a structural translation mechanism and AI and big data analytics functioning as adaptive enablers. Integrating the Resource-Based View and Diffusion of Innovation, the study explains why technology diffusion does not consistently produce stable market-level outcomes. Cross-sectional data were collected from 422 professionals in Saudi financial institutions engaged in payment, settlement, and FinTech functions. A dual-stage SEM–ANN approach was employed, using PLS-SEM to test direct, mediating, and moderating effects and Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) to capture nonlinear predictive patterns. Results show that digital transformation and digital financial inclusion enhance DeFi adoption capability and directly improve SDPSMP. DeFi capability partially mediates both relationships. Analytics capability strengthens the effects of inclusion and DeFi capability on system performance but does not moderate the transformation–performance link. ANN findings identify analytics capability and financial inclusion as dominant predictors. The study advances understanding of digital payment markets as complex adaptive systems and provides evidence on how coordinated capability development supports long-term resilience and structural stability. Full article

Mobile payment systems are widely viewed as a practical lever for sustainable financial inclusion in developing economies, with relevance to UN Sustainable Development Goals 1, 8, and 10. Yet in countries such as Egypt—where mobile penetration exceeds 95% but banking penetration remains below 35%—sustained engagement with these services lags policy expectations, suggesting that determinants beyond technology shape behavior. This study examines the determinants of behavioral intention and continued use of mobile payment among Egyptian users, and tests whether cultural factors dominate conventional technology-acceptance predictors in a collectivist, high-power-distance setting. A structured bilingual (Arabic–English) questionnaire measuring nine predictors across technology, psychological, and socio-cultural dimensions was administered to 200 active mobile-payment users in Egypt during January–February 2025. Hierarchical regression and mediation analysis (with Sobel/delta-method 95% confidence intervals as a robustness check) were used to examine direct effects on Behavioral Intention and continued use, and the mediating role of Behavioral Intention. Cultural Influence emerged as the strongest predictor of Behavioral Intention (β = 0.421, p < 0.001), followed by Facilitating Conditions (β = 0.282, p < 0.001); conventional TAM variables were not statistically significant. Cultural Influence retained a significant direct effect on continued use (β = 0.253, p < 0.01), indicating partial mediation. The findings support culture-sensitive approaches to technology adoption research and inform financial-inclusion policy in non-Western contexts. Limitations include the cross-sectional design and the convenience-based snowball sample of existing users. Full article

Coordinated development between new-type urbanization and rural revitalization is important for sustainable urban–rural transformation and balanced regional development in China. Using panel data for 30 provincial-level units from 2014 to 2023, this study examines the spatiotemporal evolution, dynamic transitions, and external drivers of the coupling coordination degree between the two systems. Spatial Markov chains and an interpretable machine-learning framework are used to identify neighborhood effects, nonlinear relationships, and interaction patterns. The results show four main findings. First, the coupling coordination degree increased over the study period, but clear spatial differences and clustering remained. This suggests that coordinated urban–rural development did not advance evenly across regions. Second, the evolution of coordination shows strong state dependence, and neighborhood context is closely related to transition probabilities. Provinces located in high-coordination neighborhoods were more likely to move to higher levels, while provinces in low-coordination neighborhoods were more likely to remain trapped at lower levels. Third, digital inclusive finance and fiscal self-sufficiency were the most important external factors. Both showed clear nonlinear patterns. Per capita electricity consumption and aging rate also showed heterogeneous relationships at different value ranges. Fourth, the interaction results suggest that higher coordination is more likely to emerge when digital finance, fiscal capacity, openness, human capital, and infrastructure improve together, rather than when only one factor expands on its own. The findings indicate that sustainable urban–rural transformation is shaped by spatial dependence, nonlinear changes, and context-specific factor combinations. Beyond their relevance for more targeted urban–rural coordination and place-based sustainability governance in China, these findings also provide a useful reference for other developing countries seeking to address similar urban–rural development challenges. Full article

Despite producing much of the world’s food, small-scale farms face severe resource shortages, climate risks, and infrastructure gaps. While digital advances ranging from IoT sensing to AI-driven analytics offer pathways to improve productivity, adoption remains uneven. This integrative review synthesizes evidence on smart-farming technologies specifically for smallholders, identifying primary barriers, enabling conditions, and design principles for successful deployment. Unlike broader smart-farming reviews, the article explicitly evaluates small-farm suitability, evidence quality, and implementation architecture rather than technological capability alone. The synthesis shows that adoption is consistently constrained by clustered barriers, notably high capital and maintenance costs, limited technical capacity, and unreliable electricity or internet access. It also finds that evidence is strongest for modular, offline-capable monitoring and alerting tools, while evidence for durable gains from highly integrated full-platform systems remains thinner and more pilot-dependent. To advance equitable innovation, the review proposes a fit-for-context deployment logic centered on co-design, local repair and advisory capacity, and financing and policy support aligned with small-farm realities. Overall, smart farming can strengthen productivity, resilience, and environmental performance on small farms, but only when technologies are embedded in inclusive service models and implementation systems. Full article

In the context of increasing concern about carbon neutrality, public health, and global sustainability, based on the micro-individual data of the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) from 2010 to 2022, this paper adopts the staggered difference-in-differences (DID) model to analyze the impact of the carbon emission trading system (CETS) on individual health and the moderating role of digital finance. The results show that the CETS significantly improves individual health. Robustness tests, including propensity score matching, placebo analyses, addressing heterogeneous treatment effects, alternative specifications and samples, and excluding contemporaneous policies, confirm the validity of the results. Mechanism analysis shows that the development of digital finance, including the breadth of coverage, depth of use and degree of digitalization, can amplify the health promotion effect of the system, highlighting the key role of digital financial inclusion in the transmission of environmental policy dividends. Further analysis reveals that the moderating effect of digital finance exhibits significant heterogeneity: its enabling role in health dividends is more pronounced among females, individuals with lower education levels, and non-elderly populations. Spatially, this synergistic effect is more evident in the central and western regions, highlighting how digital inclusion helps overcome traditional socioeconomic and geographical barriers. The study concludes with policy implications emphasizing regionally tailored implementation, strengthening digital finance infrastructure, and maintaining long-term commitment to maximize the health, social welfare, and long-term sustainability benefits of carbon market policies. Full article

This paper examines the relationship between digital–real economy integration (DREI) and household consumption using panel data from 30 Chinese provinces over the period 2014–2024. By developing an entropy-weighted modified coupling coordination model, the level of DREI is quantitatively measured, and the mechanisms of its impact and its heterogeneity at the household consumption level are explored. The empirical results show that strengthening DREI has a significant positive impact on household consumption, particularly in China’s central region and in the goods sector. Additionally, this paper identifies three primary channels through which DREI can promote household consumption: optimizing the business environment to minimize transaction costs, developing logistics to improve the efficiency of resource allocation, and promoting financial inclusion to boost household consumption potential. The findings in this paper have significant policy implications for leveraging DREI to transform China’s economic growth pattern towards high-quality domestic demand in the era of artificial intelligence and sustainable development. Full article

Digital new infrastructure (DNI) has emerged as a pivotal force in reshaping regional economic geography. However, the existing literature primarily focuses on its macro-growth effects, leaving a significant gap regarding whether it effectively bridges the divide in Digital–Real Economy Integration (DRI) and promotes sustainable regional development. Based on panel data from 31 provinces in China (2013–2023), this study employs a two-way fixed-effects model to empirically investigate the impact of DNI on the balanced development of DRI and its underlying mechanisms. The research findings are threefold: First, DNI acts as a critical driver of regional convergence in DRI by accelerating digital technology diffusion and facilitating digital talent mobility, thereby significantly mitigating inter-provincial disparities. Second, heterogeneity analysis reveals that the convergence effect of DNI is contingent upon regional environments: the “picking the winners” bias in fiscal expenditure inadvertently weakens the inclusive nature of DNI; conversely, a robust high-tech industrial base, financial deepening, and the “East Data, West Computing” strategy significantly enhance the convergence effect by strengthening technology absorption capacity and alleviating financing constraints. Third, threshold effect analysis confirms the catalytic role of marketization, demonstrating that a mature market environment effectively breaks the geographical stickiness of factor flows, thus amplifying the balanced growth dividends of DNI. This study not only extends the theory of regional convergence into the digital era but also provides critical policy insights for achieving sustainable and inclusive digital transformation. Full article

The transition toward carbon-neutral cities and sustainable infrastructure requires massive capital mobilization, yet traditional static valuation models like discounted cash flow (DCF) systematically undervalue green projects due to high initial capital expenditures and long-term uncertainty. To address this critical gap in sustainable finance, this study proposes a novel Artificial Intelligence–Blockchain–Multiple Real Options (AI-MRO) integrated framework. This model aligns infrastructure profitability with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) criteria and United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), specifically SDG 11 (Sustainable Cities), SDG 13 (Climate Action), and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure). The core approach integrates AI-based probabilistic forecasting for carbon footprint optimization and cash flow prediction, MRO-based operational flexibility assessment, and blockchain-based smart contracts (Security Token Offerings, STOs) to ensure transparent green finance governance and social inclusion. Through empirical validation at Singapore’s Punggol Digital District (PDD)—a flagship smart city project featuring a district-level smart grid reducing 1700 tonnes of CO₂ and generating 3000 MWh of solar energy annually—this model successfully captured investment resilience (Extended Net Present Value, ENPV > 0) even in crisis scenarios where conventional DCF models failed. The results demonstrate that integrating digital twins and AI-driven ESG metrics structurally reduces the risk premium and amplifies the strategic value of sustainable investments. This study represents a substantial methodological contribution toward data-driven, automated, and transparent governance, offering a scalable financial framework for global net-zero infrastructure development. Full article

Entrepreneurs represent a key piece in the generation of jobs and contribution to the economy through the performance of their businesses. Taking into account that literacy and financial inclusion constitute a business facilitator for the development of businesses, this study was based on analyzing the three variables, aiming to identify whether inclusion and financial literacy influence business performance. Through a non-experimental, quantitative study based on structural equations, a sample of 469 entrepreneurs from Peru, Bolivia, and Colombia was studied. The hypotheses were supported by observing the positive effect of one component of financial literacy (Cash Forecasting) and three components of financial inclusion (Access, Barriers, and Use) on Business Performance. However, the proposed model shows that the direct effect of two components (Bookkeeping and Financial Education) of financial literacy is not statistically significant. Therefore, these factors are vital tools that can help Latin American entrepreneurs make informed financial decisions, manage resources effectively, and build solid and sustainable businesses. Full article

Based on provincial panel data spanning 2011–2025, this paper investigates the intrinsic mechanism through which digital financial inclusion affects agricultural sustainable development. The impact is transmitted via two core paths: green technology adoption and agricultural green transformation. Empirical results reveal that digital financial inclusion exerts a robust and significantly positive driving effect on agricultural sustainability. Such conclusion remains consistently reliable after mitigating potential endogeneity problems and performing comprehensive robustness examinations. Furthermore, two mutually complementary mediating channels are identified, and distinct synergistic interactions exist between the two pathways. Heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that the promoting effect is asymmetric and remarkably stronger in western China, major grain-producing zones, and regions with well-established digital infrastructure. These findings expand the theoretical framework concerning the nexus between digital finance and agricultural sustainable transition. Meanwhile, they provide targeted and operable policy implications for regional governments. The conclusions can effectively facilitate long-term low-carbon development and sustainable transformation of agriculture. Full article

Based on green growth theory and the theory of spatial externalities, this study systematically examines the mechanisms through which digital finance influences inclusive green growth, as well as the spatial characteristics and nonlinear patterns of urban green total factor productivity (GTFP). Using a sample of 285 prefecture-level cities in China, we constructed fixed effects and threshold effects models for empirical analysis. The results indicate that digital finance has a significant positive impact on inclusive green growth; there exists a dual threshold effect based on urban green total factor productivity (GTFP) and a significant positive spatial spillover effect between the two. Institutional environment, industrial upgrading, and digital infrastructure moderate these relationships, and heterogeneous differences exist across different regions. By integrating digital finance, inclusive green growth, and green total factor productivity into a unified analytical framework, this study provides empirical insights and policy recommendations for advancing urban sustainable development and regional collaborative governance. Full article