Do digital inclusive finance, innovation, and entrepreneurship activities stimulate vitality of the urban economy? Empirical evidence from the Yangtze River Delta, China

This research empirically analyzes the impact of digital inclusive finance on urban economic vitality in Yangtze River Delta, China. The findings are as follows. 1) The development of digital inclusive finance significantly boosts the economic vitality of urban areas. 2) The promotion effect of digital finance on urban economic vitality varies regionally, as such vitality is more strongly impacted by the overall degree of digital inclusive finance development in core areas than it is by that in non-core areas. 3) The economic impact of digital inclusive finance has a clear spatial spillover, whereby an increase in digital financial inclusion in one region boosts the economic vitality of neighboring regions. 4) The total levels of innovation and entrepreneurship, entrepreneurial activity, and innovation activity all have a double threshold effect in the threshold model, indicating that digital inclusive finance has a leapfrog-promoting influence on urban economic vitality via an increase in innovation and entrepreneurship levels. Future developments in digital technology should therefore be fully embraced, and the state of inclusive digital finance should be enhanced. Governments and relevant authorities can target to advance the leadership roles of innovation and entrepreneurship and raise the contribution of mass entrepreneurship and innovation to urban economic growth.