IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finlet/v84y2025ics1544612325010992.html

Can financial technology policies promote local employment?

Author

Listed:
  • Liu, Hanchao
  • Qin, Qinghou
  • Yu, Lingling

Abstract

Based on panel data from 283 Chinese cities between 2009 and 2023, this study employs a difference-in-differences approach to evaluate the impact of the "Pilot Policy for Promoting the Integration of Technology and Finance" (PITF) on local employment. Results show that the policy significantly boosts overall employment rates and upgrades employment structures. Its effect on overall employment is more pronounced in eastern and central regions, while the impact on employment upgrades is stronger in western regions. Mechanism analysis indicates that the policy enhances technological innovation and facilitates corporate financing, indirectly driving employment growth.

Suggested Citation

  • Liu, Hanchao & Qin, Qinghou & Yu, Lingling, 2025. "Can financial technology policies promote local employment?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:84:y:2025:i:c:s1544612325010992
    DOI: 10.1016/j.frl.2025.107841
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1544612325010992
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.frl.2025.107841?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Li, Qiangyi & Zeng, Fu'e & Liu, Shaohui & Yang, Mian & Xu, Fei, 2021. "The effects of China's sustainable development policy for resource-based cities on local industrial transformation," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    2. Du, Yanan & Wang, Qingxi & Zhou, Jianping, 2023. "How does digital inclusive finance affect economic resilience: Evidence from 285 cities in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    3. Guo, Yanhong & Li, Ping & Li, Aihua, 2021. "Tail risk contagion between international financial markets during COVID-19 pandemic," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    4. Feng, Rui & Shen, Chen & Guo, Yiyang, 2024. "Digital finance and labor demand of manufacturing enterprises: Theoretical mechanism and heterogeneity analysis," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 89(PA), pages 17-32.
    5. Zhao, Linhai & Rasoulinezhad, Ehsan, 2023. "Role of natural resources utilization efficiency in achieving green economic recovery: Evidence from BRICS countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    6. Lin, Boqiang & Zhou, Yicheng, 2022. "Measuring the green economic growth in China: Influencing factors and policy perspectives," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C).
    7. Réka Juhász & Nathan Lane & Dani Rodrik, 2024. "The New Economics of Industrial Policy," Annual Review of Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 16(1), pages 213-242, August.
    8. Du, Lixia & Geng, Baiyang, 2024. "Financial technology and financing constraints," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    9. Ma, Kelin, 2023. "Digital inclusive finance and corporate green technology innovation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 55(PB).
    10. Wang, Yizi & Li, Lanyi, 2024. "Digital economy, industrial structure upgrading, and residents' consumption: Empirical evidence from prefecture-level cities in China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 1045-1058.
    11. repec:osf:socarx:gsyq4_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Xu, Fenghui & Gao, Ge & Li, Ziyu, 2025. "Digital finance, entrepreneurial activity and urban industrial structure upgrading," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    2. Zhou, Yuanxiang & Liu, Huayan & Chen, Chan & Ma, Yingqi, 2025. "The impact of digital inclusive finance on green economic efficiency: Pathways to inclusive sustainability," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    3. Sun, Yunpeng & Gao, Pengpeng & Tian, Wenjuan & Guan, Weimin, 2023. "Green innovation for resource efficiency and sustainability: Empirical analysis and policy," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    4. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Xuan, Chengnan & Wang, Fuhao, 2024. "Natural resources and green economic growth: The role of artificial intelligence," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    5. Zhang, Ming & Li, Xiaoyan & Pai, Chih-Hung & Ding, Huanhuan & Zhang, Xuan, 2023. "Green credit and fossil fuel resource efficiency: Advancing sustainability in Asia," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    6. Yanqiang Lou, 2025. "Green finance market and carbon neutralization capacity in China," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-8, December.
    7. Han, Han & Zhang, Pu & Liu, Chang & Zheng, Yinglong, 2025. "Financial technology development, regional marketization, and the effectiveness of criminal investigation cases," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    8. Wu, Yanxia & Zhang, Jie, 2025. "Digital inclusive finance and rural households’ economic resilience," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    9. Chen, Xia & Ding, Haiyang, 2023. "Assessment of green economic development through the impacts of fossil fuels resources and education in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    10. Ming Zhang & XueJiao Wei & Aidi Xu, 2023. "Impact of investment in quality language education on green economic growth: case study of 23 Chinese provinces," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-7, December.
    11. Pang, Dezhi & Jin, Xin & Zheng, Kengcheng & Tien, Nguyen Hoang, 2024. "A road toward green growth: Optimizing the role of mineral resources, fintech innovation and effective governance in G-20 economies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    12. Zhang, Yiran & He, Limiao & Yong, Chen, 2025. "The impact of Party organizations' participation in corporate governance on the enhancement of corporate resilience," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    13. Huo, Xiuzhen & Dong, Yuanyuan, 2025. "From market segmentation to consumption growth: How does digital-real integration strengthen the consumption stimulation effect in a unified national market?," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    14. Kang, Shikang & Shang, Yu, 2025. "How artificial intelligence drives industrial digitalization and greening synergies? Evidence from China's AI innovation and development pilot zones," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    15. Yu, Qinyao & Zuo, Xiangbin & Ding, Huanhuan & Yin, Xunyang, 2024. "Resource rent, economic stability and the legal landscape of China's green growth," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    16. Yunfeng Shang & Yuanjie Pu & Yiting Yu & Nan Gao & Yun Lu, 2023. "Role of the e-exhibition industry in the green growth of businesses and recovery," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 56(3), pages 2003-2020, June.
    17. Qiong Shen & Rui Wu & Yuxi Pan & Yanchao Feng, 2024. "Explaining and modeling the impacts of inclusive finance on CO2 emissions in China integrated the intermediary role of energy poverty," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-19, December.
    18. Liu, Xinran & Si, Deng-Kui, 2025. "Does digital inclusive finance promote innovation? Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 152(C).
    19. Liu, Jing & Zhang, Nan, 2025. "Digital inclusive finance, household leverage and household consumption," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 86(PF).
    20. Fu, Xintong & Guo, Chunjuan, 2025. "Digital inclusive finance and the construction of agricultural modernization," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:finlet:v:84:y:2025:i:c:s1544612325010992. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/frl .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.