Estimated results of basic model.

This study utilizes provincial panel data from China spanning from 2013 to 2019 and considers indices such as residents’ income, employment, housing, education, and medical care to comprehensively measure the welfare index of each province using the coefficient of variation. It also examines the impact and mechanism of digital financial inclusion on welfare and evaluates its influence on welfare imbalance through panel data models and RIF regression. The estimation results of digital financial inclusion on welfare indicate that digital financial inclusion is an important driver elevating the income, employment, housing, education, medical treatment and other welfares of Chinese residents, and the conclusion remains robust after using instrumental variable estimation and replacing the measurement method of welfare. Regional differences reveal that digital financial inclusion has a greater contribution to the welfare in the Midwest. The effect mechanism test shows that digital financial inclusion improves the welfare by creating employment opportunities and plays a greater role in the Midwest, and will also improve the welfare by increasing the welfare expenditure. However, this mechanism will exacerbate the welfare imbalance between the Midwest and East. The estimation results of digital financial inclusion on the welfare imbalance show that digital financial inclusion reduces welfare imbalance between the central and western regions and the eastern regions, as well as within the central and western regions.

本研究采用2013至2019年中国省级面板数据，以居民收入、就业、住房、教育、医疗等指标为基础，运用变异系数法综合测算各省份的福利指数；同时通过面板模型与再中心化影响函数（Re-centered Influence Function，RIF）回归，考察数字普惠金融（Digital Financial Inclusion）对居民福利的影响及其作用机制，并评估其对福利失衡的影响。数字普惠金融对居民福利的回归结果表明，其是提升中国居民收入、就业、住房、教育、医疗等各项福利的重要驱动力，在采用工具变量估计、替换福利测算方法后，该结论依然保持稳健；区域异质性分析显示，数字普惠金融对中西部地区居民福利的提升贡献更为显著。作用机制检验结果显示，数字普惠金融可通过创造就业岗位提升居民福利，且该效应在中西部地区更为突出，同时其还可通过增加福利支出改善居民福利，但该机制会拉大中西部与东部地区之间的福利差距；数字普惠金融对福利失衡的回归结果显示，其能够缩小中西部与东部地区之间的福利失衡，同时也可缓解中西部地区内部的福利失衡问题。