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Digital Finance and Financial Literacy: An Empirical Investigation of Chinese Households

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Listed:
  • Yang, Junhong

    (Asian Development Bank Institute)

  • Wu, Yu

    (Asian Development Bank Institute)

  • Huang, Bihong

    (Asian Development Bank Institute)

Abstract

Using the 2015 and 2017 waves of the China Household Finance Survey, we measured financial literacy and study its relationship to households’ demand for digital finance. We found that a majority of households in the People’s Republic of China possess limited financial literacy. The low level of financial sophistication is responsible for the low usage of digital finance among Chinese households. Further, the positive impact of financial literacy on digital finance is more pronounced for wealthy, high-income, and young households, women, and households in urban and coastal areas. Our results are robust to using a variety of specifications and controlling for endogeneity, peer effects, cognition, and voluntary self-exclusion.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang, Junhong & Wu, Yu & Huang, Bihong, 2020. "Digital Finance and Financial Literacy: An Empirical Investigation of Chinese Households," ADBI Working Papers 1209, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:ris:adbiwp:1209
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Pengpeng Yue & Aslihan Gizem Korkmaz & Zhichao Yin & Haigang Zhou, 2022. "The rise of digital finance: Financial inclusion or debt trap," Papers 2201.09221, arXiv.org.
    2. Yue, Pengpeng & Korkmaz, Aslihan Gizem & Yin, Zhichao & Zhou, Haigang, 2022. "The rise of digital finance: Financial inclusion or debt trap?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PA).

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    financial literacy; digital finance; household finance; CHFS; People’s Republic of China;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D10 - Microeconomics - - Household Behavior - - - General
    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • D91 - Microeconomics - - Micro-Based Behavioral Economics - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions

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