Can Digital Inclusive Finance Narrow the Chinese Urban–Rural Income Gap? The Perspective of the Regional Urban–Rural Income Structure

Abstract

This paper empirically studies the impact of digital inclusive finance on the income structure of urban and rural residents in eastern, central, and western China. The results show that, first, digital inclusive finance is beneficial to narrowing the urban–rural per capita disposable income gap that has a disequilibrium effect among regions. Second, narrowing the wage income, property income, and transfer income gaps is beneficial but has little effect on the net operating income gap between urban and rural residents. Third, narrowing the wage income, property income, and transfer income gaps reduces the total income gap, and the wage income gap has the strongest intermediary force. In the end, the paper puts forward corresponding countermeasures for the development of digital inclusive finance to narrow each of these income gaps in different regions of China.