The Impact of Digital Inclusive Finance on Residents' Income: Evidence from the Moderating Role of New-Quality Laborers

As an important outcome of financial innovation in the digital era, digital inclusive finance can improve the effectiveness of financial services and create new opportunities for residents' income growth. Based on data from the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), this study empirically examines the impact of digital inclusive finance on residents' income and investigates the moderating role played by new-quality laborers in this relationship. The results show that digital inclusive finance significantly promotes residents' income growth, while new-quality laborers exert a significant positive moderating effect in this process. These findings remain robust after addressing potential endogeneity and conducting a series of robustness checks. Mechanism analysis indicates that digital inclusive finance increases residents' income by expanding their access to financial information, improving their level of financial understanding, and strengthening their participation in financial activities. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals that the income effect of digital inclusive finance differs significantly across city clusters, across regions with different levels of the new-quality laborer index, and across income groups. In addition, digital inclusive finance significantly reduces residents' income inequality, whereas new-quality laborers exert a negative moderating effect in this process. These findings provide useful policy implications for improving the service system of digital inclusive finance, accelerating the cultivation of new-quality laborers, and promoting more coordinated regional development.