The green circuit: Tracing digital inclusive finance's role in sustainable urban development

Digital inclusive finance (DIF) can fully leverage technological advantages to overcome obstacles faced by traditional financial service models, becoming an effective tool to promote inclusive green growth (IGG). This paper examines the combined influence of DIF on urban prosperity, green development, and social equity. This is after examining the impact of DIF from provincial and single viewpoints in previous studies. DIF has been shown to effectively enhance urban IGG and have a long-term effect based on empirical research using urban panel data from China. In a heterogeneity analysis, the results indicate that DIF improves IGG in central cities, non-resource-based cities, and eastern cities significantly. In the context of urban IGG, DIF contributes to urban IGG through technological innovation, human capital, and investment levels. This study focuses on DIF to promote the transition of the economy and contribute to high-quality development objectives. This research provides empirical evidence and policy implications for using DIF to achieve these goals.