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Digitally Down to the Countryside: Fintech and Rural Development in China

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  • Sherry Tao Kong
  • Nicholas Loubere

Abstract

Digital finance has changed the landscape of financial service provision worldwide. China in particular, with a booming fintech sector and large numbers of users, is at the forefront of the expansion of digital financial services. As such, the country has become an important case for better understanding how fintech operates and what its expansion entails for socioeconomic development. This paper focuses on the provision of new models of digital finance in rural China by two Internet giants – JD and Alibaba. Against the backdrop of decades of generally unsuccessful attempts to expand financial coverage in rural areas by conventional bricks-and-mortar financial institutions, these two rural fintech models have the potential to expand digital financial service provision in new ways. This paper critically examines these fintech models, contextualises them within the broader trajectory of pushes to expand digital financial inclusion worldwide, considers the parallels with agricultural supplier contracting systems elsewhere, and explores the potential benefits and risks that they pose for rural development and rural livelihoods in China and elsewhere.

Suggested Citation

  • Sherry Tao Kong & Nicholas Loubere, 2021. "Digitally Down to the Countryside: Fintech and Rural Development in China," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(10), pages 1739-1754, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:jdevst:v:57:y:2021:i:10:p:1739-1754
    DOI: 10.1080/00220388.2021.1919631
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Veronica Paul Kundy & Kamini Shah, 2024. "The knowledge base of financial technology: a bibliometric analysis review," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 4(7), pages 1-22, July.
    2. Zhang, Shengling & Dou, Wei & Wu, Zihao & Hao, Yu, 2023. "Does the financial support to rural areas help to reduce carbon emissions? Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).
    3. Yingyuan Liu & Qian Wan & Wenhui Chen, 2024. "Digital Inclusive Finance as a Catalyst for Rural Revitalization: An Empirical Analysis from the County Development Perspective in Hubei Province," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(3), pages 11548-11580, September.
    4. Amirreza Kazemikhasragh & Marianna Vanessa Buoni Pineda, 2022. "Financial inclusion and education: An empirical study of financial inclusion in the face of the pandemic emergency due to Covid‐19 in Latin America and the Caribbean," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(3), pages 1785-1797, August.
    5. Cuadros-Solas, Pedro J. & Cubillas, Elena & Salvador, Carlos, 2023. "Does alternative digital lending affect bank performance? Cross-country and bank-level evidence," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    6. Yingkai Yin & Hongxin Ma & Zhenni Wu & Aobo Yue, 2023. "How Does China Build Its Fintech Strategy? A Perspective of Policy Evolution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(13), pages 1-21, June.
    7. Cuadros-Solas, Pedro J. & Cubillas, Elena & Salvador, Carlos & Suárez, Nuria, 2024. "Digital disruptors at the gate. Does FinTech lending affect bank market power and stability?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).

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