Digital Finance Development and Rural‐to‐Urban Migration in China
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19225591 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Chao Zhou (0009-0001-7966-2044, South China Agricultural University, corresponding author), Xiaoxue Wang (0009-0007-1581-8568, South China Agricultural University), Shaodan Wu (South China Agricultural University), Mingzhong Luo (0009-0000-8429-9502, South China Agricultural University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 32 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Population Space and Place (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1544-8444 • E-ISSN: 1544-8452 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/psp.70290 |
| OpenAlex | W7162338844 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 61 |
The large‐scale migration of rural labourers to urban areas has emerged as a prominent characteristic of China's socioeconomic development over the past few decades. This study aims to investigate how digital finance development affects rural‐to‐urban migration in China. Utilising a sample that captures individual data on rural labour force dynamics, our empirical analysis reveals that digital finance development significantly reduces rural‐to‐urban migration, and the coverage scope of digital finance is the critical dimension in reducing this migration trend. Mechanism analysis shows that digital finance development reduces migration through three channels: enhancing rural entrepreneurial activity, facilitating the expansion of local small and medium‐sized firms, and promoting the diversification of local industries. Further heterogeneity analysis reveals that the reducing effect of digital finance development on outward migration of rural workers is more significant for rural labours with lower education, in areas with weak traditional finance, and in areas with strong Confucian culture. Our findings contribute to research on rural labour mobility and provide new insight into the economic impacts of digital finance development
Access to Finance · China · Dimension (graph theory) · Diversification (marketing strategy) · Rural area · Sample (material) · Scope (computer science) · Socioeconomic status · Advanced Technologies in Various Fields · China's Socioeconomic Reforms and Governance · Rural development and sustainability
Environmental decentralization, digital finance and green technology innovation
The use of logit and probit models in strategic management research
Relative concerns of rural-to-urban migrants in China
The Financing of Research and Development
The impacts of income gaps on migration decisions in China
Investment in financial literacy and saving decisions
A Conditional Logit Approach to U.S. State‐to‐State Migration
The Role of Migrant Networks in Labor Migration
The digital divide
The spatial effects of green-innovation coupling and coordinated development from the perspective of digital inclusive finance
Finance, technology, and values
Farm Size, Land Reallocation, and Labour Migration in Rural China
Determinants and consequences of rural‐to‐urban migration patterns in China
Rural social entrepreneurship
Rural entrepreneurship and migration
Place elasticity
The attraction of cities
Spatial deprivation of urban public services in migrant enclaves under the context of a rapidly urbanizing China
How does rural homestead influence the hukou transfer intention of rural-urban migrants in China
Rethinking digital financial inclusion
Determinants of Urban Migration
Gender and job mobility among rural to urban temporary migrants in the Pearl River Delta in China
The Determinants of Temporary Rural-to-Urban Migration in China
The role of industrial diversity in economic resilience
From the Soil
The Rural Non-farm Economy
Self and the other in the Confucian cultural context
Labor Migration and Earnings Differences
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |