Summary:
High-quality development is the primary task for China in recent years, and the financial system plays a key role in this process. As one of the most significant financial innovations in recent years, digital finance has provided new opportunities for financial support of high-quality development. With the rapid development of digital finance, research on this topic has become a focal point. Existing literature has examined the achievements, impacts, and challenges of digital finance development from multiple perspectives, including countries, regions, industries, sectors, enterprises, households, and individuals. However, looking towards the future, there is a lack of systematic discussion on how to develop digital finance, and in which industries, enterprises, and sectors should we focus efforts to support high-quality development better and prevent systemic financial risks. This paper aims to review the literature on how digital finance can support high-quality development, from the perspectives of theoretical foundations, empirical findings and mechanisms. With innovation as the primary driving force, it systematically reviews recent research findings on how digital finance supports high-quality development. It extracts the main mechanisms of digital finance services for high-quality development, summarizes the main experiences in digital finance practice, and discusses future policy formulations and academic research directions. To understand the mechanisms and practices of digital finance in supporting high-quality development, it is necessary to first review the corresponding theories. This paper examines the generalization of the long-tail theory, information asymmetry theory, and transaction cost theory in the field of digital finance, which helps to explain how digital finance can promote capital accumulation, improve the efficiency of capital allocation, and foster innovation. This lays the theoretical foundation for subsequent discussions. The paper further reviews the literature from two perspectives: how digital finance directly and indirectly support the high-quality development of the real economy. For the first perspective, the paper mainly focuses on supporting rural revitalization and the development of enterprises and industries. In terms of rural revitalization, how to promote it through the development of digital finance is an important contemporary issue. The paper reviews existing literature around the “agriculture, rural areas, and farmers” theme, focusing on empowering agricultural transformation and upgrade, deepening financial services for farmers, and aiding rural inclusive finance. In supporting enterprise development, the development of enterprises is crucial for the high-quality development of China's economy. However, the problem of “expensive and difficult loans” for medium-, small and micro enterprises has not been properly resolved, and the slowdown in the growth of total factor productivity over the past decade has also triggered attention to innovation-driven development. Additionally, China's digital financial services have mainly focused on the retail finance sector, but services for the industrial internet are still in their infancy. The current status and impact of digital finance in aiding the development of the industrial internet deserve attention. Therefore, the paper reviews related literature from three dimensions: digital finance alleviating the financing difficulties of medium-, small and micro enterprises, improving enterprise operations, promoting enterprise innovation, and industrial digital finance facilitating the digitalization of industries. For the second perspective, the paper considers how digital finance can transform the financial system, thereby enhancing its ability to contribute to high-quality development. Digital finance not only directly changes the way financial institutions contribute to the economy but also triggers a transformation of the entire monetary and financial system. The innovation of digital finance provides new opportunities for the monetary and financial system, while posing new challenges to the stability of the entire financial system. This section mainly unfolds from five aspects. First, the development of digital finance puts pressure on the profitability of traditional financial institutions, prompting banks to undergo digital transformation to improve their service efficiency and quality. Second, it assesses the impact of digital finance development on the transmission of monetary policy. This includes considering how digital finance affects monetary policy transmission through traditional currency and discussing the impact of digital currency. Third, it evaluates the relationship between digital finance development and financial stability, which is further explored from the relationship between digital finance and financial risks and the prevention of digital financial risks. Fourth, it discusses how digital finance can play a role in the context of an accelerating aging process. Fifth, it explores the relationship between digital finance and green finance, as well as the relevant impact of digital finance on green finance. High-quality development is development that satisfies the people's ever-growing needs for a better life; it is coordinated and shared development. Digital finance may play a positive role by consolidating poverty alleviation efforts, improving financial inclusiveness, and promoting economic convergence between regions. Therefore, the paper further revolves around the important goal of common prosperity, focusing on three aspects: digital finance and poverty reduction, social equality, and urban-rural regional coordinative development. It reviews and assesses the role and impact of digital finance in satisfying the people's needs for a good life and achieving coordinated development. By summarizing the main mechanisms of digital finance services for high-quality economic development, this paper summarizes the main experiences in digital finance practice and discusses policy implications and academic research directions. It points out that in addition to deepening research in existing fields, issues such as how digital finance can effectively utilize financial data, develop digital finance infrastructure, and support China's high-level opening-up are all worthy of further exploration.
[1]郭峰、王靖一、王芳、孔涛、张勋和程志云,2020,《测度中国数字普惠金融发展:指数编制与空间特征》,《经济学(季刊)》第4期,第1401～1418页。 [2]郭峰和熊云军,2021,《中国数字普惠金融的测度及其影响研究:一个文献综述》,《金融评论》第6期,第12～23页,第117～118页。 [3]黄益平和黄卓,2018,《中国的数字金融发展:现在与未来》,《经济学(季刊)》第4期,第1489～1502页。 [4]黄益平和邱晗,2021,《大科技信贷:一个新的信用风险管理框架》,《管理世界》第2期,第12～21+50+2+16页。 [5]盛天翔和范从来,2020,《金融科技、最优银行业市场结构与小微企业信贷供给》,《金融研究》第6期,第114～132页。 [6]谢绚丽、沈艳、张皓星和郭峰,2018,《数字金融能促进创业吗？——来自中国的证据》,《经济学(季刊)》第4期,第1557～1580页。 [7]易行健和周利,2018,《数字普惠金融发展是否显著影响了居民消费——来自中国家庭的微观证据》,《金融研究》第11期,第47～67页。 [8]战明华、汤颜菲和李帅,2020,《数字金融发展、渠道效应差异和货币政策传导效果》,《经济研究》第6期,第22～38页。 [9]张勋、万广华和吴海涛,2021,《缩小数字鸿沟:中国特色数字金融发展》,《中国社会科学》第8期,第35～51+205～205页。 [10]赵家琪、江弘毅、胡诗云和沈艳,2023,《数字普惠金融下的小微信贷与风险——基于银行数字化转型的视角》,《经济学(季刊)》第5期,第1686～1703页。 [11]Buchak, G., G. Matvos, T. Piskorski and A. Seru, 2018, “Fintech, Regulatory Arbitrage, and the Rise of Shadow Banks”, Journal of Financial Economics, 130(3), pp. 453～483. [12]Erel, I. and J. Liebersohn, 2022, “Can FinTech Reduce Disparities in Access to Finance？ Evidence from the Paycheck Protection Program”, Journal of Financial Economics, 146(1), pp. 90～118. [13]Fuster, A., M. Plosser, P. Schnabl and J. Vickery, 2019, “The Role of Technology in Mortgage Lending”, The Review of Financial Studies, 32(5), pp. 1854～1899. [14]Gambacorta, L., Y. Huang, Z. Li, H. Qiu and S. Chen, 2023, “Data versus Collateral”, Review of Finance, 27(2), pp. 369～398. [15]Gargano, A. and A. G. Rossi, 2022, “Goal Setting and Saving in the Fintech Era”, The Journal of Finance, 79(3), pp.1931～1976. [16]Jack, W., and T. Suri, 2014, “Risk Sharing and Transactions Costs: Evidence from Kenya's Mobile Money Revolution”, American Economic Review, 104(1), pp. 183～223. [17]Keister, T. and D. Sanches, 2023, “Should Central Banks Issue Digital Currency？” The Review of Economic Studies, 90(1), pp. 404～431.
