Abstract:
Based on panel data from 157 counties in Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Region from 2014 to 2023, this study combines mediation and moderation models to empirically analyze the impact of digital inclusive finance on rural industrial revitalization and farmers’ income increase. The results show a significant positive link between digital finance and farmers’ income, which remains after robustness and endogeneity tests. Digital inclusive finance promotes farmers' income growth through the revitalization of rural industries. The test of the moderating effect shows that the improvement of the urbanization level in counties can significantly enhance the effect of digital inclusive finance on increasing farmers’ income. Heterogeneous analysis indicates that the impact of county-level digital inclusive finance in Shaanxi Province on farmers’ income growth is the strongest, followed by Gansu Province, not significant in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, and is more pronounced in revolutionary old base areas. Therefore, the study puts forward the following countermeasures and suggestions, such as strengthening the construction of digital inclusive finance infrastructure, accelerating the development of rural industries, promoting the coordinated development of digital inclusive finance and urbanization, and improving regional differentiated digital inclusive finance policies.