[Impact of Digital Financial Inclusion on Agricultural Carbon Productivity].

Abstract

Empirically examining the nexus between digital financial inclusion and agricultural carbon productivity provides critical insights for synergizing low-carbon agricultural transformation with China's "dual carbon" strategic objectives. Leveraging a provincial panel dataset （2011-2022， N=30）， this study empirically tested the influence of digital financial inclusion on agricultural carbon productivity based on clarifying the characteristics of agricultural carbon productivity in Chinese provinces. The findings reveal that： ① There were obvious differences in agricultural carbon productivity among provinces， among which Shandong was the highest， and Qinghai was the lowest. During the investigation period， the agricultural carbon productivity of the remaining 29 provinces except Shanghai showed an obvious upward trend. ② The development of digital inclusive finance had a significant positive impact on the improvement of agricultural carbon productivity， that is， the higher the level of digital inclusive finance， the higher the agricultural carbon productivity. ③ Dimensionally， financial usage depth exhibited a statistically significant positive effect on agricultural carbon productivity， while neither coverage breadth nor digitization level demonstrated significant associations. In terms of regional heterogeneity， digital financial inclusion in the central， western， and non-major grain-producing regions had a significant positive impact on agricultural carbon productivity， while it had no significant impact in the eastern region and major grain-producing regions. ④ The analysis of spatial spillover effects indicated that agricultural carbon productivity within a region was simultaneously influenced by the development of digital financial inclusion in both the local province and neighboring provinces， demonstrating a positive spatial spillover effect.