Past Events

This talk is part of the seminar series sponsored by the Department of Agricultural, Food and Resource Economics in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences. Pizza will be provided.

Abstract:

China has an unprecedented economic growth in the last three decade, which lifted millions of population out of poverty and improved wellbeing for both rural and urban households.  However, income disparity is pronounced between rural and urban, which created challenges for further economic growth and social development. Digital Inclusive Finance (DIF), taking advantage of digital technology and the emerge of fintech and financial companies along with the evolution of traditional financial institutes, provides a range of financial services to those who have no access to or lack of financial services. Especially, DIF enables rural households to be included in the financial system in a responsible, affordable and sustainable way. This study uses three different data sources, including provincial DIF index released by the Digital Finance Research Center of Peking University, the China Household Financial Survey (CHFS) data provided by the Survey and Research Center for China Household Finance at Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, and various statistical yearbooks. This study employs panel data analyses to examine 1) whether DIF improved household income and reduced income disparity within rural and urban as well as between urban and rural; and 2) pathways through DIF impacted household income level and distribution.

Here is the link to the seminar info on the department's website.