A Study on the Effect of Digital Inclusive Finance on the Financial Restraint of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises

Abstract

Nowadays, how to ease the financial restraint of small and medium-sized enterprises effectively is becoming the hot research point. The development of digital inclusive finance provides a practical solution to ease the financial restraint of small and medium-sized enterprises. Based on China’s Digital Inclusive Finance Development Index and SME Board data, this paper finds that the development of digital inclusive finance significantly alleviates the financial restraint of SMEs. The coverage and depth of digital inclusive finance both significantly ease the financial restraint of SMEs. In addition, in regions with higher levels of financial development, the mitigation effect of the development of digital inclusive finance on the financial restraint of small and medium-sized enterprises may be weakened.