Abstract
Green development is inseparable from financial support. The impact of digital inclusive finance (DIF), an emerging financial format, on the green development efficiency (GDE) needs to be studied. Using the panel data of the Provincial Digital Financial Inclusion Index from 2011 to 2019, this paper examines the impact of DIF and its coverage breadth (CB), usage depth (UD), and digitalization level (DL) on GDE, and analyzes the regional heterogeneity of the impact of DIF on GDE. The research also explores the mechanism by which DIF affects the efficiency of provincial green development, including the moderating role of environmental regulation (ER) and the mediating role of industrial structure upgrade (ISU). The results show that DIF, UD, and DL can significantly improve provincial GDE, and the effect of coverage breadth is not obvious. From a regional perspective, DIF can promote GDE in the eastern and central regions, whereas it has no obvious effect on the western region. Moreover, ER has played a moderation role in the process of DIF affecting GDE. ISU has played a partial mediation role in the process of DIF affecting GDE. The research conclusions can provide relevant suggestions for the green development of China’s provinces.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
References
Beck T, Demirguc-Kunt A (2006) Small and medium-size enterprises: access to finance as a growth constraint. J Bank Finance 30(11):2931–2943. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbankfin.2006.05.009
Cao SP, Nie L, Sun HP, Sun WF, Taghizadeh-Hesary F (2021) Digital finance, green technological innovation and energy-environmental performance: evidence from China’s regional economies. J Clean Prod 37:129458. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2021.129458
Chen S, Zhang H (2021) Does digital finance promote manufacturing servitization: micro evidence from China. Int Rev Econ Financ 76:856–869. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iref.2021.07.018
Chen H, Hao Y, Li J et al (2018) The impact of environmental regulation, shadow economy, and corruption on environmental quality: theory and empirical evidence from China. J Clean Prod 195(10):200–214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.05.206
Chen M, Liu W, Tao X (2013) Evolution and assessment on China’s urbanization 1960–2010: under-urbanization or over-urbanization? Habitat Int 38:25–33. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.habitatint.2012.09.007
Cleff T, Rennings K (2000) Determinants of environmental product and process innovation — evidence from the Mannheim innovation panel and a follow-up telephone survey. Physica-Verlag HD. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-12069-9_16
Da Rin M, Hellmann T (2002) Banks as catalysts for industrialization. J Financ Intermed 11(4):366–397. https://doi.org/10.1006/jfin.2002.0346
Du JM, Wei SW, Wu WY (2020) Does digital inclusive finance promote the optimization of industrial structure? Comp Econ Soc Syst 6:38–49
Fang Z, Gao X, Sun C (2020) Do financial development, urbanization and trade affect environmental quality? Evidence from China. J Clean Prod 259:120892. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120892
Feng YQ, Cai JH (2021) Can digital inclusive finance promote entrepreneurship? based on inter-provincial data and heterogeneity of industrial structure. Mod Econ Sci 43(1):79–90
Guo F, Wang J Y, Wang F, Kong T, Zhang X, Cheng Z Y (2020a) Measuring China’s digital inclusive finance: index compilation and spatial characteristics. China Economic Quarterly 19(4):1401–1418. https://doi.org/10.13821/j.cnki.ceq.2020a.03.12.
Guo LL, Qu Y, Tseng ML (2017) The interaction effects of environmental regulation and technological innovation on regional green growth performance. J Clean Prod 162(20):894–902. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2017.05.210
Guo YH, Tong LJ, Mei L (2020b) The effect of industrial agglomeration on green development efficiency in Northeast China since the revitalization. J Clean Prod 258:120584. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.120584
He Z, Xing W, Chen Y (2021) Marketization, industrial structure upgrading, and energy efficiency. Energy Res Lett 2(2):25725
Huang Y P, Huang Z (2018) The development of digital finance in China: present and future. China Economic Quarterly, 17(4):1489–1502. https://doi.org/10.13821/j.cnki.ceq.2018.03.09.
Huang L (2021a) Can industrial agglomeration promote green development efficiency of urban industries of the Yangtze River economic belt? Journal of Hubei University (Philosophy and Social Science) 48(1): 115–125. https://doi.org/10.13793/j.cnki.42-1020/c.2021a.01.012
Huang B (2021b) A study on the effect of digital inclusive finance on the financial restraint of small and medium-sized enterprises. E3S Web of Conferences 235:03014. https://doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/2021b23503014
Jalil A, Feridun M (2011) The impact of growth, energy and financial development on the environment in China: a cointegration analysis. Energy Econ 33(2):284–291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2010.10.003
Jiang M, Luo S, Zhou G (2021) Financial development, OFDI spillovers and industrial structure upgrading. Technol Forecast Soc Chang 155:119974. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2020.119974
Li X, Lu Y, Rafique MZ et al (2022) The effect of fiscal decentralization, environmental regulation, and economic development on haze pollution: empirical evidence for 270 Chinese cities during 2007–2016. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29:20318–20332. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17175-1
Li J, Li B (2022) Digital inclusive finance and urban innovation: evidence from China. Rev Dev Econ 26(2):1010–1034. https://doi.org/10.1111/rode.12846
Li X, Lu Y, Huang R (2021) Whether foreign direct investment can promote high-quality economic development under environmental regulation: evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:21674–21683. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-12032-z
Li J, Wu Y, Xiao JJ (2020) The impact of digital finance on household consumption: evidence from China. Econ Model 86:317–326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2019.09.027
Li K, Lin BQ (2017) Economic growth model, structural transformation, and green productivity in China. Appl Energy 187:489–500. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.11.075
Lin S, Xiao L, Wang X (2021) Does air pollution hinder technological innovation in China? A perspective of innovation value chain. J Clean Prod 278:123326. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.123326
Lin B, Chen X (2020) Environmental regulation and energy-environmental performance—empirical evidence from China’s non-ferrous metals industry. J Environ Manage 269:110722. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2020.110722
Liu RY, Wang DQ, Zhang L, Zhang LH (2019) Can green financial development promote regional ecological efficiency? A case study of China. Nat Hazards 95(1):325–341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11069-018-3502-x
Liu G, Huang Y, Huang Z (2021) Determinants and mechanisms of digital inclusive finance development: based on urban-rural differences. Agronomy 11(9):1833. https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11091833
Peneder M (2003) Industrial Structure and Aggregate Growth. Struct Chang Econ Dyn 14(4):427–448. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0954-349X(02)00052-8
Porter ME (1991) America’s green strategy. Sci Am 264(4):193–246. https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican0491-168
Shofawati A (2019) The role of digital finance to strengthen financial inclusion and the growth of SME in Indonesia. KnE Social Sciences 3(13):389. https://doi.org/10.18502/kss.v3i13.4218
Song Y, Zhang X, Zhang M (2021) The influence of environmental regulation on industrial structure upgrading: based on the strategic interaction behavior of environmental regulation among local governments. Technol Forecast Soc Chang 170(9):120930. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.120930
Song H, Yu K, Lu Q (2018) Financial service providers and banks’ role in helping SMEs to access finance. Int J Phys Distrib Logist Manag 48(1):69–92. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPDLM-11-2016-0315
Sun Z, Wang X, Liang C et al (2021) The impact of heterogeneous environmental regulation on innovation of high-tech enterprises in China: mediating and interaction effect. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28:8323–8336. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-11225-w
Wang Q, Zhang F, Li R (2022) Do environmental regulation and urbanization help decouple economic growth from water consumption at national and subnational scales in China? Environ Sci Pollut Res 29:19473–19495. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-16667-4
Wang Q, Yang X (2019) Urbanization impact on residential energy consumption in China: the roles of income, urbanization level, and urban density. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26(4):3542–3555. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-3863-4
Wu HT, Hao Y, Ren SY (2020) How do environmental regulation and environmental decentralization affect green total factor energy efficiency: evidence from China. Energy Econ 91:104880. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2020.104880
Xu MW, Xu X, Xie QC (2018) The transfer role of inclusive finance in green ecological development. Shandong Social Sciences (3): 176–186. https://doi.org/10.14112/j.cnki.37-1053/c.2018.03.027
Yin Z, Gong X, Guo P et al (2019) What drives entrepreneurship in digital economy? Evidence from China. Econ Model 82:66–73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.econmod.2019.09.026
Yin FX (2020) Impact of digital finance on green innovation efficiency based on spatial measurement model. Technical Economy and Management Research 11:74–79
Yuan HX, Feng YD, Lee J, Liu HM, Li R (2019) The spatial threshold effect and its regional boundary of financial agglomeration on green development: a case study in China. J Clean Prod 244:118670. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.118670
Zeng JJ, Tong WS, Tang T (2020) How do energy policies affect industrial green development in China: Renewable energy, energy conservation, or industrial structure upgrading? Chinese Journal of Population, Resources and Environment 18(2):79–86. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjpre.2021.04.020
Zhang W, Li G, Uddin MK et al (2020) Environmental regulation, foreign investment behavior, and carbon emissions for 30 provinces in China. J Clean Prod 248:119208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2019.119208
Zhang KK, Xu DY, Li SR (2019a) The impact of environmental regulation on environmental pollution in China: an empirical study based on the synergistic effect of industrial agglomeration. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26(25):25775–25788
Zhang HM, Zhu ZS, Fan YG (2018) The impact of environmental regulation on the coordinated development of environment and economy in China. Nat Hazards 91:473–489
Zhang J, Geng H, Xu G W, Chen J (2019b) Research on the influence of environmental regulation on green technology innovation. China Population, Resources and Environment 29(1): 168–176. 10.12062/ cpre.20180917
Zhang W, Jin YG, Wang JP (2015) Greenization of venture capital and green innovation of Chinese entity industry. Ecol Ind 51(4):31–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2014.10.025
Zhou X, Zhang J, Li J (2013) Industrial structural transformation and carbon dioxide emissions in China[J]. Energy Policy 57:43–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2012.07.017
Zhu BZ, Zhang MF, Zhou YH et al (2019) Exploring the effect of industrial structure moderation on interprovincial green development efficiency in China: a novel integrated approach. Energy Policy 134:110946. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enpol.2019.110946
Funding
This work was supported by the General Program of the National Social Science Fund of China “A Study on the Impact of Institutional Gap on the Social Responsibility of Chinese Overseas Investment Enterprise” (Grant No. 18BGL026).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Zhimin He: material preparation, conceptualization, writing and revising. Huaichao Chen: funding acquisition, investigation, writing-reviewing, and supervision. Jingwei Hu: methodology, modeling, and software. Yueting Zhang: data collection, validation, and editing.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval and consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent for publication
Not applicable.
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible Editor: Nicholas Apergis
Publisher's note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
He, Z., Chen, H., Hu, J. et al. The impact of digital inclusive finance on provincial green development efficiency: empirical evidence from China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 90404–90418 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22071-3
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22071-3