Abstract:
Based on the elimination of polarization, common prosperity is the universal prosperity. Whether digital inclusive finance can promote common prosperity is worth discussing. From the perspective of urban-rural income gap, this paper used the panel data of 31 provinces from 2013 to 2021 in China, and analyzed the influence of digital inclusive finance on common prosperity by means of fixed effects model, mediating effect model, and panel threshold model. The results were following: (1) The development of digital inclusive finance was beneficial to reducing the urban-rural income gap. When digital inclusive finance increased for every 1 unit, the Theil index correspondingly dropped by
0.0378 units. (2) Innovation was the transmission channel between digital inclusive finance and the urban-rural income gap. Innovation had a partial mediating effect between digital inclusive finance and urban-rural income gap, with a contribution rate of 9.04%. (3) Digital inclusive finance had the characteristics of regional heterogeneity, and its effect on the urban-rural income gap would vary with different regions. (4) There was a linear relationship between digital inclusive finance and urban-rural income gap. Accordingly, it put forward the countermeasures from deepening the development of digital inclusive finance, strengthening the construction of digital infrastructure and alleviating regional differences.