Digital financial usage and agricultural scale operation performance in China

This study utilizes the 2019 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) dataset to investigate the impact and mechanism of digital financial usage on agricultural-scale business performance using the Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) method. The empirical analysis reveals that the utilization of digital financial usage positively contributes to the enhancement of agricultural-scale business performance. Specifically, for each average increase of one standard deviation in digital financial usage, agricultural-scale business performance improves by 0.674 percentage points. This positive relationship holds true across all quartiles, indicating that digital financial usage consistently enhances agricultural-scale business performance. The findings suggest that digital financial usage has a more pronounced effect on improving agricultural-scale business performance in rural regions while also demonstrating inclusiveness in the Midwest region. This study identifies that digital financial usage improves agricultural-scale business performance by fostering higher levels of asset allocation satisfaction and increasing relative income. Asset allocation satisfaction and relative income serve as significant channels through which digital financial usage enhances agricultural-scale business performance. The findings provide valuable insights for guiding agricultural-scale operations, facilitating agricultural modernization, and promoting rural revitalization.