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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Environ. Sci.
Sec. Environmental Economics and Management
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fenvs.2025.1467542

Digital financial inclusion and economic green growth: Evidence from counties covered by China's National Key Ecological Functional Zones

Provisionally accepted
Li Mo Li Mo 1Song Chen Song Chen 1Shenwei Wan Shenwei Wan 2*Chen Liang Chen Liang 2Ye Ma Ye Ma 3
  • 1 Yunnan Agricultural University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
  • 2 Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
  • 3 Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, Shanghai Municipality, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Against the backdrop of growing attention being paid to both ecological compensation and the digital economy, this paper explores the impact of digital financial inclusion on green economic growth in counties within China's National Key Ecological Functional Zones (NKEFZs) from 2014 to 2022, using panel data from 393 counties. Employing a two-way fixed-effects model, the study finds that digital financial inclusion promotes both traditional and green economic growth. The study results are robust, even after a series of robustness tests. The mechanisms identified include agricultural technology progress, industrial structure upgrading, and enterprise innovation and entrepreneurship. However, the effect is less significant in western and northeastern regions, as well as in windbreak and sand-fixing zones. The study highlights the potential of digital finance to help resource-rich, underdeveloped regions overcome the 'resource curse' and foster sustainable economic growth.

    Keywords: National Key Ecological Function Zones (NKEFZs), Digital financial inclusion, Economic green growth, sustainable development, Policy assessment

    Received: 22 Jul 2024; Accepted: 15 Jan 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Mo, Chen, Wan, Liang and Ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Shenwei Wan, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.