IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/soinre/v178y2025i3d10.1007_s11205-025-03579-w.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Is the Fintech Era Making Us Happy?

Author

Listed:
  • Van Le

    (University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH))

  • Bao Khac Quoc Nguyen

    (University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH))

Abstract

This study investigates the interactions between financial technology (Fintech) and happiness sentiment under economic stability from 15 July 2015 to 31 December 2019 and global volatility from 01 January 2020 to 31 December 2021. We examine the relation between daily changes in the Fintech and happiness proxies based on the bivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity modeling with conditional correlation mechanisms. We find a statistically significant result that the Fintech proxy negatively affects happiness sentiment, regardless of economic contexts. This implies a trade-off between Fintech and happiness, which is additionally supported by the negative impact of happiness on Fintech in the context of global volatility. We further indicate that the happiness objective shall be more concentrated during uncertainties. Empirical findings clarify how the Fintech innovation is challenged and generate the happiness standard to assess the prospect of financial technology in future. We recommend that policymakers should consider happiness goals in pursuit of technological innovation in the context of digital era.

Suggested Citation

  • Van Le & Bao Khac Quoc Nguyen, 2025. "Is the Fintech Era Making Us Happy?," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 178(3), pages 1391-1409, July.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:178:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s11205-025-03579-w
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-025-03579-w
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11205-025-03579-w
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11205-025-03579-w?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. Ling, Shiqing & McAleer, Michael, 2003. "Asymptotic Theory For A Vector Arma-Garch Model," Econometric Theory, Cambridge University Press, vol. 19(2), pages 280-310, April.
    2. Robert M. Solow, 1956. "A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 70(1), pages 65-94.
    3. Banna, Hasanul & Kabir Hassan, M. & Rashid, Mamunur, 2021. "Fintech-based financial inclusion and bank risk-taking: Evidence from OIC countries," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    4. Li, Jianping & Li, Jingyu & Zhu, Xiaoqian & Yao, Yinhong & Casu, Barbara, 2020. "Risk spillovers between FinTech and traditional financial institutions: Evidence from the U.S," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    5. Wang, Xinxin & Qin, Yong & Xu, Zeshui & Škare, Marinko, 2022. "A look at the focus shift in innovation literature due to Covid-19 pandemic," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 1-20.
    6. Itay Goldstein & Wei Jiang & G Andrew Karolyi, 2019. "To FinTech and Beyond," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 32(5), pages 1647-1661.
    7. Barrafrem, Kinga & Tinghög, Gustav & Västfjäll, Daniel, 2021. "Trust in the government increases financial well-being and general well-being during COVID-19," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    8. Ali, Sajid & Raza, Naveed & Vinh Vo, Xuan & Le, Van, 2022. "Modelling the joint dynamics of financial assets using MGARCH family models: Insights into hedging and diversification strategies," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    9. David B. Audretsch (ed.), 2006. "Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Growth," Books, Edward Elgar Publishing, number 4130.
    10. Krugman, Paul, 1979. "A Model of Innovation, Technology Transfer, and the World Distribution of Income," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 87(2), pages 253-266, April.
    11. Jagtiani, Julapa & Lemieux, Catharine, 2018. "Do fintech lenders penetrate areas that are underserved by traditional banks?," Journal of Economics and Business, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 43-54.
    12. de Almeida, Daniel & Hotta, Luiz K. & Ruiz, Esther, 2018. "MGARCH models: Trade-off between feasibility and flexibility," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 45-63.
    13. Bernardo Nicoletti, 2017. "The Future of FinTech," Palgrave Studies in Financial Services Technology, Palgrave Macmillan, number 978-3-319-51415-4, January.
    14. Edinaldo Tebaldi & Bruce Elmslie, 2008. "Institutions, Innovation And Economic Growth," Journal of Economic Development, Chung-Ang Unviersity, Department of Economics, vol. 33(2), pages 27-53, December.
    15. Bollerslev, Tim, 1990. "Modelling the Coherence in Short-run Nominal Exchange Rates: A Multivariate Generalized ARCH Model," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 72(3), pages 498-505, August.
    16. Barua, Suborna, 2020. "Understanding Coronanomics: The economic implications of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic," MPRA Paper 99693, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    17. Poh Wong & Yuen Ho & Erkko Autio, 2005. "Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Growth: Evidence from GEM data," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 335-350, January.
    18. Nelson, Richard R. & Nelson, Katherine, 2002. "Technology, institutions, and innovation systems," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 31(2), pages 265-272, February.
    19. Sheng, Tianxiang, 2021. "The effect of fintech on banks’ credit provision to SMEs: Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    20. Fung, Derrick W.H. & Lee, Wing Yan & Yeh, Jason J.H. & Yuen, Fei Lung, 2020. "Friend or foe: The divergent effects of FinTech on financial stability," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    21. Yuan-Hung Hsu Ku & Ho-Chyuan Chen & Kuang-Hua Chen, 2007. "On the application of the dynamic conditional correlation model in estimating optimal time-varying hedge ratios," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 14(7), pages 503-509.
    22. Kroner, Kenneth F. & Sultan, Jahangir, 1993. "Time-Varying Distributions and Dynamic Hedging with Foreign Currency Futures," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 28(4), pages 535-551, December.
    23. Engle, Robert, 2002. "Dynamic Conditional Correlation: A Simple Class of Multivariate Generalized Autoregressive Conditional Heteroskedasticity Models," Journal of Business & Economic Statistics, American Statistical Association, vol. 20(3), pages 339-350, July.
    24. Henderson, Brian J. & Pearson, Neil D., 2011. "The dark side of financial innovation: A case study of the pricing of a retail financial product," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(2), pages 227-247, May.
    25. Kroner, Kenneth F & Ng, Victor K, 1998. "Modeling Asymmetric Comovements of Asset Returns," The Review of Financial Studies, Society for Financial Studies, vol. 11(4), pages 817-844.
    26. Sanjiv R. Das, 2019. "The future of fintech," Financial Management, Financial Management Association International, vol. 48(4), pages 981-1007, December.
    27. Bollaert, Helen & Lopez-de-Silanes, Florencio & Schwienbacher, Armin, 2021. "Fintech and access to finance," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    28. Popkova, Elena G. & De Bernardi, Paola & Tyurina, Yuliya G. & Sergi, Bruno S., 2022. "A theory of digital technology advancement to address the grand challenges of sustainable development," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    29. Murinde, Victor & Rizopoulos, Efthymios & Zachariadis, Markos, 2022. "The impact of the FinTech revolution on the future of banking: Opportunities and risks," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    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. Văn, Lê & Bảo, Nguyễn Khắc Quốc, 2022. "The relationship between global stock and precious metals under Covid-19 and happiness perspectives," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    2. Ngene, Geoffrey & Post, Jordin A. & Mungai, Ann N., 2018. "Volatility and shock interactions and risk management implications: Evidence from the U.S. and frontier markets," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 181-198.
    3. El Hedi Arouri, Mohamed & Lahiani, Amine & Nguyen, Duc Khuong, 2015. "World gold prices and stock returns in China: Insights for hedging and diversification strategies," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 273-282.
    4. Chang, Chia-Lin & González-Serrano, Lydia & Jimenez-Martin, Juan-Angel, 2013. "Currency hedging strategies using dynamic multivariate GARCH," Mathematics and Computers in Simulation (MATCOM), Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 164-182.
    5. Maghyereh, Aktham I. & Awartani, Basel & Tziogkidis, Panagiotis, 2017. "Volatility spillovers and cross-hedging between gold, oil and equities: Evidence from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 440-453.
    6. Chang, Chia-Lin & McAleer, Michael & Tansuchat, Roengchai, 2011. "Crude oil hedging strategies using dynamic multivariate GARCH," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(5), pages 912-923, September.
    7. Morema, Kgotso & Bonga-Bonga, Lumengo, 2018. "The impact of oil and gold price fluctuations on the South African equity market: volatility spillovers and implications for portfolio management," MPRA Paper 87637, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Caporin, Massimiliano & Jimenez-Martin, Juan-Angel & Gonzalez-Serrano, Lydia, 2014. "Currency hedging strategies in strategic benchmarks and the global and Euro sovereign financial crises," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 31(C), pages 159-177.
    9. Arfaoui Mongi & Haj Ali Dhouha, 2016. "Do Structural Breaks Affect Portfolio Designs and Hedging Strategies? International Evidence from Stock-Commodity Markets Linkages," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 6(1), pages 252-270.
    10. Gunay, Samet & Goodell, John W. & Muhammed, Shahnawaz & Kirimhan, Destan, 2023. "Frequency connectedness between FinTech, NFT and DeFi: Considering linkages to investor sentiment," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    11. Dutta, Anupam & Bouri, Elie & Noor, Md Hasib, 2018. "Return and volatility linkages between CO2 emission and clean energy stock prices," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 803-810.
    12. Zouheir Mighri & Majid Ibrahim Alsaggaf, 2019. "Volatility Spillovers among the Cryptocurrency Time Series," International Journal of Economics and Financial Issues, Econjournals, vol. 9(3), pages 81-90.
    13. Ahmad, Wasim & Sadorsky, Perry & Sharma, Amit, 2018. "Optimal hedge ratios for clean energy equities," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 278-295.
    14. Guo, Junyan & Fang, Hanqing & Liu, Xuexin & Wang, Cizhi & Wang, Yuan, 2023. "FinTech and financing constraints of enterprises: Evidence from China," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    15. Asma Abdallah & Ahmed Ghorbela, 2018. "Hedging Oil Prices with Renewable Energy Indices A Comparison between Various Multivariate Garch Versions," Biostatistics and Biometrics Open Access Journal, Juniper Publishers Inc., vol. 6(3), pages 74-86, April.
    16. Choudhary, Priya & Thenmozhi, M., 2024. "Fintech and financial sector: ADO analysis and future research agenda," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    17. Syriopoulos, Theodore & Makram, Beljid & Boubaker, Adel, 2015. "Stock market volatility spillovers and portfolio hedging: BRICS and the financial crisis," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 7-18.
    18. Andreas Renard Widarto & Harjum Muharam & Sugeng Wahyudi & Irene Rini Demi Pangestuti, 2022. "ASEAN-5 and Crypto Hedge Fund: Dynamic Portfolio Approach," SAGE Open, , vol. 12(2), pages 21582440221, April.
    19. Hatice Gaye Gencer, 2015. "Flight-to-quality or contagion effect? An analysis from the Turkish and the US financial markets," Financial Theory and Practice, Institute of Public Finance, vol. 39(3), pages 325-340.
    20. Raza, Naveed & Ali, Sajid & Shahzad, Syed Jawad Hussain & Raza, Syed Ali, 2018. "Do commodities effectively hedge real estate risk? A multi-scale asymmetric DCC approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 10-29.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • G41 - Financial Economics - - Behavioral Finance - - - Role and Effects of Psychological, Emotional, Social, and Cognitive Factors on Decision Making in Financial Markets
    • I31 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Welfare, Well-Being, and Poverty - - - General Welfare, Well-Being
    • D81 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Criteria for Decision-Making under Risk and Uncertainty

    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:spr:soinre:v:178:y:2025:i:3:d:10.1007_s11205-025-03579-w. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    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.