Exploring the spatially heterogeneous impact of digital financial inclusion on rural economic development in China using remote sensing data and the MGWR model

Against the deteriorating urban-rural gap background, digital financial inclusion has offered the chance for rural areas to emerge from the economic downturn. Based on the data from 1907 counties in China, this study uncovers the spatially diversified impact of digital financial inclusion on rural economic development through the multiscale geographically weighted regression model. The key conclusions of this study are as follows: first, digital financial inclusion has spatially heterogeneous impacts on rural economic development. This relationship with economic development is also reflected in multiple aspects of digital financial inclusion, such as usage, payment, investment, and credit. Second, digital financial inclusion favors economic development in more south coastal and northwestern regions than others. Third, credit services have a greater and more extensive effect in rural regions than other sub-indicators, which warrants a superior focus. Last, digital financial inclusion’s effects diffuse from the capital city, underscoring the feasibility of leveraging the leadership of these regions to expand the impact breadth of digital financial inclusion. In summary, this study complements the spatial heterogeneity of digital financial inclusion into the research framework and offers an in-depth understanding of digital financial inclusion.