Moving up toward sustainable development: Digital finance and income mobility

The fact that financial exclusion leads to income inequality is detrimental to sustainable economic growth. Digital finance facilitates the provision of financial services to poor people and has the potential to promote income mobility so that to reduce income inequality. This study uses the Digital Financial Inclusion Index and household data from the China Household Finance Survey to examine the association between digital finance and households’ income mobility. Results show a significantly positive association between digital finance and upward income mobility. Underlying mechanism analyses suggest that digital finance is positively associated with upward mobility through the channels of equal opportunity and financial capability. Further heterogeneous analyses find that asset, education, and age can be moderators in the relationship between digital finance and income mobility. The findings demonstrate the importance of digital finance in promoting the income mobility of disadvantaged people and achieving the goal of inclusive and sustainable development.