The impact of digital financial inclusion on the high-quality development of pastoral economy in China’s minority regions

IntroductionIn the pursuit of high-quality development in the pastoral economy, digital financial inclusion (DFI) plays an indispensable role in driving progress. The system of DFI constructed through “digital technology + inclusive finance” has gradually extended various financial services, such as...

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Main Authors: Jun Wang, Xinyi Zhang, Yuting Du, Yingying Deng, Jianmin Cao, Yuan Liang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1589814/full
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author Jun Wang
Xinyi Zhang
Yuting Du
Yingying Deng
Jianmin Cao
Yuan Liang
author_facet Jun Wang
Xinyi Zhang
Yuting Du
Yingying Deng
Jianmin Cao
Yuan Liang
author_sort Jun Wang
collection DOAJ
description IntroductionIn the pursuit of high-quality development in the pastoral economy, digital financial inclusion (DFI) plays an indispensable role in driving progress. The system of DFI constructed through “digital technology + inclusive finance” has gradually extended various financial services, such as lending and financing, to the pastoral areas of ethnic minorities, significantly reducing the barriers and costs for herdsmen to access financial services.MethodsBased on the panel data of 26 prefecture-level cities in the 9 main pastoral provinces of ethnic minorities in China from 2011 to 2022, this paper employs the entropy weight method to construct a High-Quality Development Index for animal husbandry. Utilizing fixed-effects and mediation-effect models, we analyze and elucidate the pivotal role of DFI in promoting the high-quality development of animal husbandry in impoverished regions, with particular emphasis on its underlying mechanisms.Results(1) DFI has a significant positive effect on the high-quality development of the pastoral economy in China’s ethnic minority pastoral areas. Mechanism tests reveal that DFI promotes high-quality development in these regions through increased output value and income. (2) Structural heterogeneity analysis reveals that the coverage and usage depth of DFI have a significant positive effect on the high-quality development of the pastoral economy in ethnic minority pastoral areas. (3) Mediation effect tests indicate that DFI can further promote the high-quality development of the pastoral economy through the trickle-down effect of non-agricultural employment and the optimization of the pastoral industry structure.DiscussionThis study provides theoretical support and empirical evidence for promoting the high-quality development of the pastoral economy through DFI. It also offers micro-level evidence for alleviating the funding constraints of herdsmen in remote areas without collateral through DFI.
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spelling doaj-art-4c37d623aaba4d79ae0a589c3cab1f9f2025-08-20T02:31:56ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems2571-581X2025-06-01910.3389/fsufs.2025.15898141589814The impact of digital financial inclusion on the high-quality development of pastoral economy in China’s minority regionsJun Wang0Xinyi Zhang1Yuting Du2Yingying Deng3Jianmin Cao4Yuan Liang5College of Economics and Management, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, ChinaCollege of Economics and Management, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, ChinaCollege of Economics and Management, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, ChinaCollege of Economics and Management, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, ChinaCollege of Economics and Management, Jilin Agricultural University, Changchun, ChinaCollege of Management, Bohai University, Jinzhou, ChinaIntroductionIn the pursuit of high-quality development in the pastoral economy, digital financial inclusion (DFI) plays an indispensable role in driving progress. The system of DFI constructed through “digital technology + inclusive finance” has gradually extended various financial services, such as lending and financing, to the pastoral areas of ethnic minorities, significantly reducing the barriers and costs for herdsmen to access financial services.MethodsBased on the panel data of 26 prefecture-level cities in the 9 main pastoral provinces of ethnic minorities in China from 2011 to 2022, this paper employs the entropy weight method to construct a High-Quality Development Index for animal husbandry. Utilizing fixed-effects and mediation-effect models, we analyze and elucidate the pivotal role of DFI in promoting the high-quality development of animal husbandry in impoverished regions, with particular emphasis on its underlying mechanisms.Results(1) DFI has a significant positive effect on the high-quality development of the pastoral economy in China’s ethnic minority pastoral areas. Mechanism tests reveal that DFI promotes high-quality development in these regions through increased output value and income. (2) Structural heterogeneity analysis reveals that the coverage and usage depth of DFI have a significant positive effect on the high-quality development of the pastoral economy in ethnic minority pastoral areas. (3) Mediation effect tests indicate that DFI can further promote the high-quality development of the pastoral economy through the trickle-down effect of non-agricultural employment and the optimization of the pastoral industry structure.DiscussionThis study provides theoretical support and empirical evidence for promoting the high-quality development of the pastoral economy through DFI. It also offers micro-level evidence for alleviating the funding constraints of herdsmen in remote areas without collateral through DFI.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1589814/fulldigital financial inclusionpastoral economyhigh-quality developmentfixed-effects modelethnic minority pastoral areas
spellingShingle Jun Wang
Xinyi Zhang
Yuting Du
Yingying Deng
Jianmin Cao
Yuan Liang
The impact of digital financial inclusion on the high-quality development of pastoral economy in China’s minority regions
Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems
digital financial inclusion
pastoral economy
high-quality development
fixed-effects model
ethnic minority pastoral areas
title The impact of digital financial inclusion on the high-quality development of pastoral economy in China’s minority regions
title_full The impact of digital financial inclusion on the high-quality development of pastoral economy in China’s minority regions
title_fullStr The impact of digital financial inclusion on the high-quality development of pastoral economy in China’s minority regions
title_full_unstemmed The impact of digital financial inclusion on the high-quality development of pastoral economy in China’s minority regions
title_short The impact of digital financial inclusion on the high-quality development of pastoral economy in China’s minority regions
title_sort impact of digital financial inclusion on the high quality development of pastoral economy in china s minority regions
topic digital financial inclusion
pastoral economy
high-quality development
fixed-effects model
ethnic minority pastoral areas
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1589814/full
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