Exploring the Evolutionary Path of Digital Financial Inclusion in Guangdong Province,China

This study explores the development trajectory of digital financial inclusion in 21 cities in Guangdong Province through fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis(fsQCA).The findings emphasize that the success of digital financial inclusion goes beyond individual dimensions,forming a systematic initiative marked by multifaceted interaction among different disciplines.In the trajectory of high-level digital inclusive finance development,the study identifies economic prosperity and technological innovation as crucial elements,highlighting their centrality,and elucidates the synergistic collaboration between market mechanisms and government guidance.Furthermore,the study emphasizes the government’s pivotal role in supporting market mechanisms and guiding policies,highlighting the need to achieve a nuanced equilibrium in the digital financial inclusion strategy.In contrast,non-high-level development paths of digital inclusive finance show a spectrum of diversities,emphasizing the critical roles played by economic fundamentals,government regulation,market mechanisms,and other contextual factors in different trajectories.Regarding policy implications,the study emphasizes the comprehensive and systemic nature inherent in the development of digital inclusive finance.It proposes four policy recommendations,including integrating development strategies,emphasizing scientific and technological innovation and economic development,achieving a delicate balance between market mechanisms and government guidance,and providing precise policy support.These insights provide valuable lessons for shaping digital inclusive financial policies in Guangdong Province and beyond,offering profound insights for strategically constructing robust digital financial ecosystems.

Analysis of Mobile and Internet Network Coverage: Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves and Concept of Digital Divide in Burundi

Mobile and Internet network coverage plays an important role in digital transformation and the exploitation of new services. The evolution of mobile networks from the first generation (1G) to the 5th generation is still a long process. 2G networks have developed the messaging service, which complements the already operational voice service. 2G technology has rapidly progressed to the third generation (3G), incorporating multimedia data transmission techniques. It then progressed to fourth generation (4G) and LTE (Long Term Evolution), increasing the transmission speed to improve 3G. Currently, developed countries have already moved to 5G. In developing countries, including Burundi, a member of the East African Community (ECA) where more than 80% are connected to 2G technologies, 40% are connected to the 3G network and 25% to the 4G network and are not yet connected to the 5G network and then still a process. The objective of this article is to analyze the coverage of 2G, 3G and 4G networks in Burundi. This analysis will make it possible to identify possible deficits in order to reduce the digital divide between connected urban areas and remote rural areas. Furthermore, this analysis will draw the attention of decision-makers to the need to deploy networks and coverage to allow the population to access mobile and Internet services and thus enable the digitalization of the population. Finally, this article shows the level of coverage, the digital divide and an overview of the deployment of base stations (BTS) throughout the country to promote the transformation and digital inclusion of services.

Spatial-temporal Evolution and Influencing Factors of Digital Financial Inclusion: County-level Evidence from China

The vigorous development of information and communications technology has accelerated reshaping of the financial industry. The COVID-19 pandemic has further catalyzed the demand for digital financial services. Digital financial inclusion relies on information technology to overcome spatial limitations. In this case, the research question is whether it adheres to the spatial laws governing conventional financial activities. This study uses exploratory spatial data analysis and a geographical detector to elucidate the spatiotemporal characteristics and factors influencing digital financial inclusion at the county level in China(Data don’t include that of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan of China) from 2014 to 2020. The research findings indicate: first, China’s county-level digital financial inclusion is generally increasing and exhibits significant spatial autocorrelation. Second, population density, level of traditional financial development, government regulation, and education level are key determinants of China’s county-level digital financial inclusion. Third,policies should be differentiated by region to narrow the spatial gap in digital financial inclusion. The results provide a reference for other developing countries on using digital technology to develop financial inclusion.

The impact and heterogeneity analysis of digital financial inclusion on non-farm employment of rural labor

This study examines the effects of digital financial inclusion on non-farm employment of rural labor and the mediating mechanism of innovation and entrepreneurship activity using China Family Panel Studies(CFPS)and the provincial index of digital financial inclusion.Through the empirical test of the Probit model and mediation effect model,we found that:firstly,digital financial inclusion can promote non-farm employment of rural labor,with the level of digitalization having the most significant impact;secondly,by encouraging innovation and entrepreneurial activity,digital financial inclusion can promote non-farm employment of rural labor;thirdly,the driving effect of digital financial inclusion on non-farm employment of rural labor is more pronounced among the unmarried,eastern region,and male labor.Therefore,we should improve the construction of rural digital infrastructure and accelerate the development of inclusive rural finance to promote more diversified non-farm employment options for“disadvantaged groups”;encourage and support innovation at the government level,and create a favorable atmosphere for innovation and entrepreneurship.Simultaneously,farmers’digital literacy and financial knowledge should be improved so that more can adopt and take advantage of digital financial inclusion.

DIGITAL INCLUSION FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IN CHINA UNDER COVID-19:HOW FAR HAS CHINA COME?

This article reviews social regulatory and redistributive policies in China that aim at fostering digital inclusion of persons with disabilities.We examine the emerging Chinese policies and how China has responded to the impacts of the coronavirus disease(COVID-19)on digital inclusion in terms of redistribution,market regulation,involvement of persons with disabilities and disabled people’s organizations(DPOs),and awareness-raising campaigns.The policy review demonstrates that the Chinese policy framework contains a few redistributive initiatives,for example,cash transfer programs,and free distribution of information and communications technology(ICT).These have the potential to increase the uptake of ICT among persons with disabilities.The Chinese policy framework also includes provisions to ensure consultation with individual persons with disabilities and DPOs in the deliberation and implementation of ICT accessibility policies.While China has initiated awareness-raising campaigns among market actors about the importance of digital inclusion,so far,the Chinese government has adopted little legal regulation of the market to foster accessibility to ICT.The article thus argues that some of the limitations may be due to the way state–market relations have developed since the economy opened up in 1978.Apart from the growing benefits of several cash transfer programs,we have not seen major changes or adjustments to the current policy framework during the efforts to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on digital inclusion.

Digital inclusion of older people: harnessing digital technologies to promote healthy ageing in the Western Pacific Region

Adapting systems and technology for an aging population has benefits for older people,the consumer market industry itself and all of society.To promote knowledge sharing on innovations for healthy ageing and digital inclusion of older people in the Western Pacific Region,a hybrid conference on“Digital inclusion of older peo-ple:harnessing digital technologies to promote healthy ageing in the Western Pacific Region”was held on 23 June 2021 by China Academy of Information and Communications Technology,a WHO Collaborating Centre for Digital Health.Barriers from demand side include:(1)unaffordability;(2)poor Information and Communication technology(ICT)knowledge and skills for navigation;and(3)low self-efficacy and motivation.Supply barriers include:(1)youth-centred design;(2)ageism;and(3)anti-facilitative environment including infrastructure and age-biased technology.Existing practices to overcome digital inclusion barriers were shared:(1)landmark ini-tiatives related to the health and social welfare;(2)laws and policies to improve aged care services,strengthen social services,enrich spiritual and cultural life for older people;(3)ICT infrastructure and residential care facil-ities based on the philosophy of family care and supported by community care;(4)affordable digital application and adaptive feature design to better enable and motivate their desire to use digital technology;and(5)com-munity activities such as trainings and tutorials to enhance digital capacity and literacy of older people.Main principles highlighted include market motivation,human-centered design,creating enabling environments,and multi-stakeholder collaborations to provide guidance to customize strategy under context of different regions and countries,instead of a one-size-fits-all solution,to avoid the risk of exacerbating inequalities experienced by older people,caused by accelerated ICT innovation,and advocate for more affordable products in the silver market.

Italian Case: The Role of Learning Processes in University Inclusion

This proposal is focused on the first outputs of the doctoral thesis“Universitabile”based,specifically,on the relationship between educational inclusion(Ainscow&Miles,2009)and ICT(Information and Communications Technology).Starting from a review of the literature on the role of universities as places of inclusion and confrontation with diversity(Bolt&Penketh,2016;Moriña&Gavira,2015),the proposal analyses the inclusion strategies by three main universities in Rome:La Sapienza,Tor Vergata and Roma Tre through a mixed method approach.We will show the answers to interviews administered to operators of dedicated services.In this context,ICT,during the Covid-19 emergency,acted as a facilitator allowing people with disabilities to benefit from distance learning,but also as a barrier,since the evidence shows that technology,if conceived as a facilitator but designed only on the basis of the characteristics of able-bodied users,can represent an obstacle factor.In this sense,as found by Tsatsou(2020),the inclusion of people with disabilities can be facilitated by the use of digital technologies.This view is also found in Valentini(2008),who emphasises how the use of digital technologies is a prerequisite for the development of concrete solutions.To conclude,it would be appropriate to rethink technology on the basis of Universal Design,i.e.“an approach to the design of technologies that pays more attention to the concept of universal usability:buildings and tools should be conceived,designed and constructed in a way to be usable by all”(Fiocco&Martinati,2002,p.232).

High-quality Development Path of Henan Agriculture and Rural Areas Empowered by Digital Inclusive Finance

By studying high-quality development process of Henan agriculture and rural areas empowered by digital inclusive finance,it is found that the construction of digital financial infrastructure in Henan Province is relatively complete,and the level of deposit and loan of rural enterprises and farmers is constantly improving,and the market and government are constantly upgrading the financial risk insurance compensation mechanism.At the same time,there are also problems such as insufficient demand and supply of digital finance,single digital financial products,and weak market supervision.Based on this,some implementation paths are proposed,such as continuing to strengthen the construction of rural financial infrastructure in Henan Province,improving farmers’financial literacy,and enriching digital financial products and services.The government should continue to improve the construction of market system,and broaden the market supervision and management,to actively promote the digitalization of agricultural finance to enable the high-quality development of agriculture and rural areas in Henan Province.

The Digital Inclusive Finance and Enterprise Innovation:Evidence From A-Share Market

In China,the integration of digital technology and finance has gradually formed a digital supply mode of inclusive finance,which alleviates the financing limitations of small and medium-sized businesses to a certain extent and is significant for enterprise innovation activities that need financial support.Under the National Innovation-driven Development Strategy,it is particularly meaningful to evaluate whether digital inclusive finance can foster company innovation.This article empirically evaluates the impact of digital inclusive finance on firm innovation and development using data from all listed companies on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and Shenzhen Stock Exchange from 2011 to 2018 together with the city level digital inclusive finance index.The result shows how digital inclusive financing may support businesses’innovative processes,and its role in promoting innovation differs among enterprises of different scales,but such heterogeneity effect can be absorbed by industry effect and time effect.The result of this paper sheds lights on the role of digital inclusive finance in improving enterprise performance by solving the financing dilemma of them,and according to the empirical results,this paper suggests that the support for digital inclusive finance should be further improved in order to promote the good and healthy development of the real economy,which refers to the part of a country’s economy that produces goods and services,rather than the part that consists of financial services such as banks and stock markets.

Research on the Impact of Chinese Digital Inclusive Finance on Industrial Structure Upgrade—Based on Spatial Dubin Model

Based on the panel data of 30 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China from 2011 to 2018, this paper uses the digital inclusive financial index and industrial structure upgrading coefficient of the Internet Research Center of Peking University as the core explanatory and explained variables to construct a spatial panel. Bin model performs regression analysis on the effect of digital inclusive finance in the upgrading of industrial structure. The results prove that the development of digital inclusive finance in this province and city has significantly promoted the upgrading of the regional industrial structure, and it has a positive overall effect on the upgrading of industrial structure.

Research on the Spatial Influence of Digital Inclusive Finance on the High-quality Development of Private Economy

This paper selects China's provincial panel data from 2011 to 2020,uses the entropy method to calculate the high-quality development index of the private economy,and studies the spatial impact of digital inclusive finance on the high-quality development of the private economy based on the SDM model.The results show that:digital inclusive finance development has a positive effect on the high-quality development of the private economy in various provinces and cities,while it has a negative inhibitory effect on the high-quality development of the private economy in neighboring provinces and cities.In terms of spatial heterogeneity,digital inclusive finance in North China,East China,and Central and South China has a significant role in promoting the high-quality development of the private economy.The effect of North China,East China,and Central South is decreasing in order,while digital inclusive finance in Northwest China has a significant effect on the private economy.High-quality development has a negative effect.This paper provides empirical evidence and policy directions for the high-quality development of private enterprises in the context of the digital economy in the new era.

The Impact of Digital Financial Inclusion on Agricultural Mechanization:Evidence from 1,869 Counties in China

In light of China's generally backward agricultural mechanization levels,it becomes crucial to shore up this weak link with endogenous driving force.The digital financial inclusion offers a approach to addressing the challenges related to agricultural mechanization.This study,collecting data from 1,869 counties and using the Spatial Autoregressive Model with Spatial Autoregressive Disturbances(SARAR model),analyzes the equilibrium and disequilibrium effects of digital financial inclusion on agricultural mechanization,as well as the mechanisms through which digital financial inclusion operates.The findings indicate that both digital financial inclusion and agricultural mechanization exhibittspatialspillovereffects.The development of digital financial inclusion emerges as a significant driver for promoting agricultural mechanization.Furthermore,the impact of digital financial inclusion on agricultural mechanization varies based on the level of agricultural economic development,with counties characterized by less developed agriculture,plain topography,and strong agricultural sectors benefiting more from digital financial inclusion.Additionally,digital financial inclusionini directlyboosts agricultural mechanizationby increasing farmers income and encouraging investment in fixed assets.Therefore,it is crucial to harness the benefits brought by the development of digital financial inclusion while promoting agricultural mechanization,and regions should tailor their approaches to promote digital financial inclusion development according to their local conditions.

Digital Financial Inclusion and Consumption Smoothing in China

In this paper,we investigate the effect of digital financial inclusion(DFI)on household consumption smoothing in China.We use four waves of the biennial China Family Panel Studies from 2010 to 2016,during which time DFI has significantly developed alongside financial technology across China.We split household income shocks into permanent and transitory components,and evaluate if DFI may help households to buffer against these shocks.We find that households are not able to insure against permanent shocks to income,but they can smooth approximately 70 percent of transitory shocks to income.We also find that DFI has diminished households'ability to insure against transitory income shocks.This is partly because online purchase may lead to the oversensitivity of consumption to income.In addition,we find that contrary to DFI,traditional financial sector development contributes to better household consumption smoothing against transitory income shocks.

Fintech,Digital Financial Inclusion,and National Financial Competitiveness

With the rapid development of fintech as represented by the internet,artificial intelligence,blockchain,cloud computing and big data,especially the evolution of big data and deep learning,and the major changes in financial service models and products in recent years,the development of global inclusive finance has undergone different stages,from“micro finance,”through“inclusive finance,”to“digital financial inclusion.”In the context of growing global competition in the financial sector,many countries are promoting digital financial inclusion and formulating applicable national development strategies.Therefore,it is suggested that China should further strengthen support policies,increase its influence on global financial governance,construct a long-term regulatory mechanism for digital financial inclusion,and build digital inclusive financial infrastructure in order to improve the international competitiveness of China’s financial industry.

Financial inclusion in China:an overview

Financial inclusion has become an important development strategy in many countries,and related research is increasing.Financial inclusion in China has had significant progress recently.It has gradually formed a unique and sustainable development path with supporting policies and regulations as well as rapid development and application of digital technology.While challenges remain,the experience of Chinese financial inclusion provides valuable lessons and research directions for policymakers and researchers.

Fintech,Bank Risks,and Business Performance:From the Perspective of Inclusive Finance

Recent years have seen an increasing integration of fintech and inclusive loans,leading to significant changes in banking business models and operations.The paper analyzes the impact of fintech on bank risks and performance.The research findings show the following results.First,fintech has made banks more willing to issue inclusive loans.Second,by leveraging fintech,banks have lowered the risks associated with inclusive loans and improved their performance,particularly manifested by inclusive loans to small and micro enterprises.Third,in regard to financial geographic heterogeneity,with the increasing distance between branches and sub-branches,and head office,fintech,as an effective regulating tool,can help to improve the inclusive loan operations and risk control capabilities of remote branches and sub-branches.This paper argues that digital financial inclusion contributes to the stable operation of banks;banks can take advantage of fintech to digitalize and intelligentize financial inclusion,thereby improving business efficiency,reducing risk exposures and expanding profitability.Therefore,banks should adhere to the“prudent and stable”risk appetite and“small and decentralized”credit granting principle to make safe,convenient and impartial inclusive finance services available to a variety of market entities.When implementing the inclusive finance development strategy,head office should consider different results among branches and sub-branches due to their varied financial geographic locations,and release differentiated assessment and incentive policies to branches and sub-branches based on economic regions in a bid to minimize policy spillovers.