Building bridges of trust: Impact of regional digital financial inclusion on social capital in China
研究发现，区域数字金融包容性提升能显著增强社会信任，尤其是频繁互联网用户中，这种增长主要源于感知公平等非经济因素，而非个人收入增加。
Abstract In this study, we examine the interplay between regional digital financial inclusion and social capital with a focus on social trust. Our empirical analysis shows that regions with enhanced digital financial services experience a significant boost in social trust. Specifically, a one standard deviation increase in regional digital financial inclusion correlates with an approximate increase of 1% in social trust among frequent Internet users compared with infrequent users. We futher find that growth in social trust is largely attributable to noneconomic factors, such as improvements in perceived fairness. Conversely, the economic factor of increased individual income exhibits limited explanatory strength in this context. These findings shed light on the dynamics of regional development and highlight critical policy considerations for fostering social capital through digital finance.