IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/finana/v98y2025ics1057521924008263.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does mobile access to the internet increase household financial literacy?

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Qian
  • Guo, Lian
  • Chen, Diqiang
  • Lei, Shini

Abstract

Using the 2013 and 2015 waves of the China Household Finance Survey (CHFS), this study explores mobile internet use and examines its impacts on households' financial literacy. Our findings provide robust evidence that mobile internet use increases households' financial literacy. Moreover, the mechanism test shows that mobile internet use improves financial literacy mainly through: enhancing information flow about finance and engaging in economic activities. Interestingly, we explore the effects of mobile internet use on financial literacy among different people, and we find that the positive impact of mobile internet use on financial literacy is more pronounced in households who are older, lower educated and those who live in rural and western areas. Overall, our findings imply that mobile internet plays a positive role in facilitating financial inclusion by improving financial literacy.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Qian & Guo, Lian & Chen, Diqiang & Lei, Shini, 2025. "Does mobile access to the internet increase household financial literacy?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:98:y:2025:i:c:s1057521924008263
    DOI: 10.1016/j.irfa.2024.103894
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057521924008263
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.irfa.2024.103894?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:finana:v:98:y:2025:i:c:s1057521924008263. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620166 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.