Abstract

This study aims to investigate the effect of digital financial inclusion and air pollution on economic growth for 31 Chinese provinces between 2003 and 2022 using Panel Threshold Auto-Regressive (PTAR) and Panel Smooth Transition Auto-Regression (PSTAR) models. The results show that there is a nonlinear link between digital financial inclusion and economic growth in China. For PTAR, the LnDFII thresholds are 4.264 (i.e., DFII = 71.094), and for PSTAR are 4.563 (i.e., DFII = 95.871). Below these thresholds, digital financial inclusion significantly boosts economic growth by 0.061 and 0.063 in the PTAR and PSTAR models, respectively. However, above these thresholds, the positive impact diminishes, with coefficients dropping to 0.015 and 0.004 in the PTAR and PSTAR models, respectively. Additionally, both models indicate that digital financial inclusion positively affects reducing air pollution, thereby potentially fostering economic growth. Hence, authorities should strategically implement digital technologies and strengthen collaborative efforts at the regional level to maximize these benefits.