Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2026, 72(10):612-628 | DOI: 10.17221/112/2025-AGRICECON

Digital finance, agricultural industrialisation, and inclusive economic growth in ChinaOriginal Paper

Yunping Hao
School of Economics and Finance, Chongqing University of Science and Technology, Chongqing, P.R. China

This study develops a theoretical analytical framework to examine the impact of digital finance on agricultural industrialisation and investigates the effects of both digital finance and agricultural industrialisation on inclusive economic growth, utilising interprovincial panel data from 2011 to 2020. The findings indicate that digital finance is conducive to economic inclusion and can enhance economic inclusion through the promotion of agricultural industrialisation. Furthermore, agricultural industrialisation serves as a vital conduit through which digital finance influences inclusive economic growth. This study highlights that the inclusive growth effect of digital finance escalates in conjunction with inclusive economic growth. By fostering the development of digital finance, this study advances agricultural industrialisation and contributes to the enhancement of inclusive economic growth, thereby offering policy insights to promote such growth.

Keywords: financial inclusion; agricultural economy; differential GMM; inclusive development; income distribution

Received: March 12, 2025; Revised: May 22, 2026; Accepted: June 1, 2026; Prepublished online: October 23, 2026; Published: October 29, 2026  Show citation

ACS AIP APA ASA Harvard Chicago Chicago Notes IEEE ISO690 MLA NLM Turabian Vancouver
Hao Y. Digital finance, agricultural industrialisation, and inclusive economic growth in China. Agricultural Economics. 2026;72(10):612-628. doi: 10.17221/112/2025-AGRICECON.
Share...
Download citation
  • BibTeX (.bib)
  • Bookends (.ris)
  • EasyBib (.ris)
  • EndNote (.enw)
  • EndNote 8 (.xml)
  • ISI WoS (.isi)
  • Medlars (.medlars)
  • Mendeley (.ris)
  • MODS (.xml)
  • Papers (.ris)
  • RefWorks (.txt)
  • RefManager (.ris)
  • RIS (.ris)
  • MS Word (.xml)
  • Zotero (.ris)
    • Open full article

    Supplementary files:

    Download file112-2025_AE_ESM_online.pdf

    File size: 60.88 kB

    References

    1. Acemoglu D., Akcigit U., Alp H., Bloom N., Kerr W. (2018): Innovation, Reallocation, and Growth. American Economic Review, 108: 3450-3491. Go to original source...
    2. Acheampong A.O. (2023): Foreign direct investment and inclusive green growth in Africa: Energy efficiency contingencies and thresholds: Comment. Energy Economics, 126: 107019. Go to original source...
    3. Alston J.M., Pardey P.G., Roseboom J. (1998): Financing agricultural research: International investment patterns and policy perspectives. World Development, 26: 1057-1071. Go to original source...
    4. Amponsah M., Agbola F.W., Mahmood A. (2023): The relationship between poverty, income inequality and inclusive growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Economic Modelling, 126: 106415. Go to original source...
    5. Arellano M., Bond S. (1991): Some tests of specification for panel data: Monte Carlo evidence and an application to employment equations. The Review of Economic Studies. 58: 277-297. Go to original source...
    6. Asongu S.A., Nnanna J., Acha-Anyi P.N. (2020): Finance, inequality and inclusive education in Sub-Saharan Africa. Economic Analysis and Policy, 67: 162-177. Go to original source...
    7. Berg A.G., Ostry J.D. (2017): Inequality and unsustainable growth: Two sides of the same coin? IMF Economic Review, 65: 792-815. Go to original source...
    8. Beynon J. (1995): The state's role in financing agricultural research. Food Policy, 20: 545-550. Go to original source...
    9. Bello A.A., Hassan A., Akadiri S.S., Onuogu I.C., Aliyu U.S. (2024): Towards ICT diffusion and trade liberalisation on inclusive growth in Sub-Saharan Africa. Environment Development and Sustainability, 27: 11221-11246. Go to original source...
    10. Bhatt K., Seabra C., Kumar J., Ashutosh K., Kabia S.K. (2024): Tourism-Led inclusive growth in emerging and developing economies: A systematic literature review. Sage Open, 14. Go to original source...
    11. Blunell R., Bond S. (1998): Initial Conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models. Journal of Econometrics, 87: 115-143. Go to original source...
    12. Cao L., Wang G.S. (2024): Impact of digital finance on agricultural output: From the perspective of digital development of agriculture. Finance Research Letters, 66: 105698. Go to original source...
    13. Carvalho J.L. (1991): Agriculture, industrialization and the macroeconomic environment in Brazil. Food Policy, 16: 48-57. Go to original source...
    14. Corrado G., Corrado L. (2017): Inclusive finance for inclusive growth and development. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 24: 19-23. Go to original source...
    15. Cui L.B., Weng S.M., Song M.L. (2022a): Financial inclusion, renewable energy consumption, and inclusive growth: Cross-country evidence. Energy Efficiency, 15: 43. Go to original source...
    16. Cui M., Qian J.F., Cui L.L. (2022b): Developing precision agriculture through creating information processing capability in rural China. Journal of Rural Studies, 92: 237-252. Go to original source...
    17. Curry G.N., Nake S., Koczberski G., Oswald M., Rafflegeau S., Lummani J., Peter E., Nailina R. (2021): Disruptive innovation in agriculture: Socio-cultural factors in technology adoption in the developing world. Journal of Rural Studies, 88: 422-431. Go to original source...
    18. Deng C.Y. (2022): Research on the development and integration of inclusive finance in agricultural economy based on the artificial intelligence machine learning algorithm. Wireless Communications & Mobile Computing, 2022: 1758983. Go to original source...
    19. Du X.S., Wu S.Y., Zhou J. (2024): How does digital finance affect rural capital misallocation? Evidence from China. Applied Economics, 57: 2241-2254. Go to original source...
    20. Fan J.Y., Wang K., Xu M.L. (2024): Does digital finance development affect corporate cash holdings? Evidence from China. Technology Analysis & Strategic Management, 37: 2970-2983. Go to original source...
    21. Gao Q., Cheng C.M., Sun G.L., Li J.F. (2022): The Impact of digital inclusive finance on agricultural green total factor productivity: Evidence from China. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, 10: 905644. Go to original source...
    22. Gao C.Y., Wang Q. (2023): Does digital finance aggravate bank competition? Evidence from China. Research in International Business and Finance, 66: 102041. Go to original source...
    23. Guo F., Wang J.Y., Wang F., Kong T., Zhang X., Cheng C.Y. (2020): Measuring China's digital financial inclusion: Index compilation and spatial characteristics. China Economic Quarterly, 19: 1401-1418. (China). DOI:10.13821/j.cnki.ceq.2020.03.12. Go to original source...
    24. Guo Z.H., Wei Y.T., Fan S.S., Shahbaz M. (2024): Is FinTech making world more 'inclusive'? Evidence from inclusive growth story of China. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 209: 123780. Go to original source...
    25. Guyver P., MacCarthy M. (2011): The Ghana grains partnership. International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability, 9: 35-41. Go to original source...
    26. Hao Y.P., Zhang B. (2024): The impact of digital financial usage on resident's income inequality in China: An empirical analysis based on CHFS data. Journal of Asian Economics, 91: 101706. Go to original source...
    27. Heidhues F., Davis J.R., Schrieder G. (1998): Agricultural transformation and implications for designing rural financial policies in Romania. European Review of Agricultural Economics, 25: 351-372. Go to original source...
    28. Ji Y., Shi L.N., Zhang S.M. (2022): Digital finance and corporate bankruptcy risk: Evidence from China. Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, 72: 101731. Go to original source...
    29. Jiang G.H., Ma W.Q., Zhou D.Y., Zhao Q.L., Zhang R.J. (2017): Agglomeration or dispersion? Industrial land-use pattern and its impacts in rural areas from China's township and village enterprises perspective. Journal of Cleaner Production, 159: 207-219. Go to original source...
    30. Jiang J.N., Chen S.Q., Xin Y.J., Wang X.F., Zeng L., Zhong Z.D., Xiang L. (2019): Does the critical illness insurance reduce patients' financial burden and benefit the poor more: A comprehensive evaluation in rural area of China. Journal of Medical Economics, 22: 455-463. Go to original source...
    31. Jiang S., Zhou J., Qiu S. (2022): Digital agriculture and urbanization: Mechanism and empirical research. Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 180: 121724. Go to original source...
    32. Jiang Y. K., Han G. H., Yu D. (2024): Digital finance and agricultural green total factor productivity: The mediating role of digital village development. Finance Research Letters, 67: 105948. Go to original source...
    33. Kong R., Peng Y.L., Meng N., Fu H., Zhou L., Zhang Y.H., Turvey C.G. (2021): Heterogeneous choice in the demand for agriculture credit in China: Results from an in-the-field choice experiment. China Agricultural Economic Review, 13: 456-474. Go to original source...
    34. Li F., Feng S.Y., Lu H.L., Qu F.T., D'Haese M. (2020): The role of contract type in soil-improving investments: Evidence from rice-planting large-scale production units in China. Environment and Development Economics, 25: 334-354. Go to original source...
    35. Li J.Y., Khan A.A., Ali M.A., Luo J.C. (2022): Does farmers' agricultural investment is impacted by green finance policies and financial constraint? From the perspective of farmers' heterogeneity in Northwest China. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 29: 67242-67257. Go to original source... Go to PubMed...
    36. Li B.B., Du K. (2023): Analysis on the development mode of leisure agriculture industrialisation based on general equilibrium model. Land, 12: 170. Go to original source...
    37. Li Y.C., Jin G.Y., Cui Z.H., Lv B.S., Xu Z.J. (2024): Does digital inclusive finance promote regional green inclusive growth? Finance Research Letters, 62: 105163. Go to original source...
    38. Liang L.W., Shih K.H., Chung Y.H. (2010): Financing instruments and strategies of agribusiness: Evidence from Taiwan. African Journal of Business Management, 4: 320-332.
    39. Liu L.X., Zhan X.L. (2019): Analysis of financing efficiency of chinese agricultural listed companies based on machine learning. Complexity, 2019: 9190273. Go to original source...
    40. Liu Y., Liu C.Y., Zhou M. (2021): Does digital inclusive finance promote agricultural production for rural households in China? Research based on the Chinese family database (CFD). China Agricultural Economic Review, 13: 475-494. Go to original source...
    41. Liu L.X. (2022): Research on the operation of agricultural products e-commerce platform based on cloud computing. Mathematical Problems in Engineering, 2022: 8489903. Go to original source...
    42. Liu L.J., Guo L. (2023): Digital financial inclusion, income inequality, and vulnerability to relative poverty. Social Indicators Research, 170: 1155-1181. Go to original source...
    43. Mahmood S., Shuhui W., Aslam S., Ahmed T. (2023): Financial inclusion: Does it matter in alleviating poverty in Pakistan. Social Indicators Research, 169: 1125-1146. Go to original source...
    44. Meuwissen M.P.M., Van Asseldonk M.A.P.M., Huirne R.B.M. (2003): Alternative risk financing instruments for swine epidemics. Agricultural Systems, 75: 305-322. Go to original source...
    45. Mossberger K., LaCombe S., Tolbert C. J. (2022): A new measure of digital economic activity and its impact on local opportunity. Telecommunications Policy, 46: 102231. Go to original source...
    46. Neimark B.D. (2016): Biofuel imaginaries: The emerging politics surrounding 'inclusive' private sector development in Madagascar. Journal of Rural Studies, 45: 146-156. Go to original source...
    47. Ofori I.K., Gbolonyo E.Y., Dossou M.A.T., Nkrumah R.K., Nkansah E. (2023): Towards inclusive growth in Africa: Remittances, and financial development interactive effects and thresholds. Journal of Multinational Financial Management, 68: 100798. Go to original source...
    48. Ofori I.K., Ojong N., Gbolonyo E.Y. (2024): Foreign aid, infrastructure, and the inclusive growth agenda in Sub-Saharan Africa. Growth and Change, 55: e70004. Go to original source...
    49. Patil S., Aditya, Jha A.K. (2016): Role of financial agencies in integrating small farmers into a sustainable value chain: A synthesis-based on successful value chain financing efforts. Current Science, 110: 2082-2090. Go to original source...
    50. Peng Z., Bai F., Zhao F. (2024): Digital finance, life cycle, and enterprise mergers and acquisitions. Finance Research Letters, 67: 105784. Go to original source...
    51. Ren Z.G., Zheng H., Chen J., Chen T., Xie P.Y., Xu Y.Z., Deng J.M., Wang H.Z., Sun M.J., Jiao W.C. (2024): Integrating UAV, UGV and UAV-UGV collaboration in future industrialized agriculture: Analysis, opportunities and challenges. Computers and Electronics in Agriculture, 227: 109631. Go to original source...
    52. Shen Z.Y., Hong T.Y., Blancard S., Bai K.X. (2024): Digital financial inclusion and green growth: Analysis of Chinese agriculture. Applied Economics, 56: 5555-5573. Go to original source...
    53. Siaw D., Ofosu G., Sarpong D. (2023): Cocoa production, farmlands, and the galamsey: Examining current and emerging trends in the ASM-agriculture nexus. Journal of Rural Studies, 101: 103044. Go to original source...
    54. Song Y., Zhang R., Hao Y.Q. (2025): Digital economy, labor force transfer, and high-quality agricultural development. Finance Research Letters, 74: 106692. Go to original source...
    55. Sun R., Mi J.N., Cao S., Zhang T.Y. (2021): Trends and determinants of income-oriented livelihood transitions in rural China. Social Indicators Research, 155: 601-624. Go to original source...
    56. Swamy V., Dharani M. (2016): Analyzing the agricultural value chain financing: Approaches and tools in India. Agricultural Finance Review, 76: 211-232. Go to original source...
    57. Turvey C.G., Kong R., Huo X.X. (2010): Borrowing amongst friends: The economics of informal credit in rural China. China Agricultural Economic Review, 2: 133-147. Go to original source...
    58. van Niekerk A.J. (2020): Towards inclusive growth in Africa. Development Southern Africa, 37: 519-533. Go to original source...
    59. Wang W., Huang J., Wang H.B., Alidaee B. (2022): Internal and external analysis of community banks' performance. International Review of Financial Analysis, 84: 102409. Go to original source...
    60. Watson K., Achinelli M.L. (2008): Context and contingency: The coffee crisis for conventional small-scale coffee farmers in Brazil. The Geographical Journal, 174: 223-234. Go to original source...
    61. Wu Y.L., Wu B., Liu X.H., Zhang S.W. (2025): Digital finance and agricultural total factor productivity - From the perspective of capital deepening and factor structure. Finance Research Letters, 74: 106449. Go to original source...
    62. Xu Y.F. (2010): China's Export-led growth strategy: An international comparison. China & World Economy, 18: 18-33. Go to original source...
    63. Xu H., Ahmad M., Aziz A.L., Uddin I., Aljuaid M., Gu X. (2024): The linkages between energy efficiency, renewable electricity, human capital and inclusive growth: The role of technological development. Energy Strategy Reviews, 53: 101414. Go to original source...
    64. Xu Z.Y., Yang J.D. (2025): Impact of digital finance on rural industry revitalization. International Review of Economics & Finance, 97: 103820. Go to original source...
    65. Yan B., Liu G.D., Zhang Z.Y., Yan C. (2020): Optimal financing and operation strategy of fresh agricultural supply chain. The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 64: 776-794. Go to original source...
    66. Yang Y., Jiang J.L., Yin Z.C. (2021): Social networks, shocks, and household consumption in China. Economic Analysis and Policy, 71: 111-122. Go to original source...
    67. Yi Z.L., Wang Y.L., Chen Y.J. (2021): Financing an agricultural supply chain with a capital-constrained smallholder farmer in developing economies. Production and Operations Management, 30: 2102-2121. Go to original source...
    68. Yuan X., Zhang J.L., Shi J., Wang J.C. (2024): What can green finance do for high-quality agricultural development? Fresh insights from China. Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, 94: 101920. Go to original source...
    69. Zakaria M., Jun W., Khan M.F. (2019): Impact of financial development on agricultural productivity in South Asia. Agricultural Economics - Czech, 65: 232-239. Go to original source...
    70. Zhang X., Tan Y., Hu Z.H., Wang C., Wan G.H. (2020): The trickle-down effect of fintech development: From the perspective of urbanization. China & World Economy, 28: 23-40. Go to original source...
    71. Zhang P., Wang Y.R., Wang R.Y., Wang T.W. (2024): Digital finance and corporate innovation: Evidence from China. Applied Economics, 56: 615-638. Go to original source...
    72. Zhang Y.F., Ji M.X. (2024): From pixels to production: The impact of digital finance on the industrial fabric of rural China. China Agricultural Economic Review, 16: 527-544. Go to original source...
    73. Zhao C.K., Wu Y.Q., Guo J.H. (2022): Mobile payment and Chinese rural household consumption. China Economic Review, 71: 101719. Go to original source...
    74. Zhou Z.Q., Zhang Y.H., Yan Z.B. (2022): Will digital financial inclusion increase Chinese farmers' willingness to adopt agricultural technology? Agriculture, 12: 1514. Go to original source...

    This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0.), which permits non-comercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original publication is properly cited. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.


    Return to the content