Wang Yi

 School of Finance, Anhui University of Finance and Economics

Abstract：

Against the backdrop of the continuous advancement of digital economy and innovation-driven development strategies, whether digital inclusive finance can effectively alleviate the financing and information constraints faced by corporate innovation activities has become a crucial issue in the realm of financial services for the real economy. Using a sample of Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed companies from 2015 to 2024, combined with municipal-level digital inclusive finance indices, this paper examines the impact of digital inclusive finance on corporate innovation investment. The study finds that digital inclusive finance significantly enhances corporate innovation investment; the core conclusion remains robust after lagging the explanatory variables and replacing the dependent variables; its promoting effect is primarily evident in high-tech firms, non-heavily polluting firms, and firms in competitive industries; simultaneously, digital inclusive finance can significantly alleviate corporate financing constraints and reduce information asymmetry, indicating that it primarily enhances corporate innovation investment by improving the financing and information environments. Starting from the front-end decision-making of innovation investment, this paper discusses the two mechanism pathways of financing constraints and information asymmetry within a unified framework and identifies the heterogeneity of the innovation effects of digital inclusive finance, providing empirical evidence for digital finance to better serve the real economy and innovation-driven development.

Key Words：

digital inclusive finance; corporate innovation investment; financing constraints; information asymmetry