earticle

영어

As high-quality economic and social development progresses continuously and the average life expectancy steadily rises, China has entered a phase of profound aging, significantly intensifying the pressure on pension services. While improving the quality of elderly care services, ensuring universal accessibility for all senior citizens has emerged as a pressing practical challenge confronting governments at all levels. Leveraging advanced financial technology, digital inclusive finance bridges the digital divide, lowers financial barriers, and dismantles information silos, thereby aligning financial services more closely with the practical needs of the elderly and providing robust support for inclusive elderly care. This paper theoretically analyzes the mechanism and functioning pathways of digital inclusive finance that influence inclusive elderly care. To empirically validate the theoretical framework, micro-level survey data from five prefecture-level cities in Zhejiang Province were collected using a multi-stage sampling approach, and an ordered Probit model was employed for the analysis. The results reveal that digital inclusive finance positively enhances inclusive elderly care. Willingness to invest and finance, financial support, and financial accessibility emerge as three key mechanisms. Financial literacy plays a significant positive moderating role, whereas the digital divide exhibits a notable negative moderating effect. Digital financial inclusion exerts a more substantial favourable influence on inclusive elderly care for urban residents than rural residents, and its positive impact is more significant for residents in regions with higher economic development levels than those in less developed areas. Additionally, digital inclusive finance exerts a positive influence on the transformation of elderly care concepts, the enhancement of residents' consumption levels, and the improvement of family resilience. Finally, this paper puts forward five policy inspirations: Firstly, to encourage the advancement of digital inclusive finance to foster a more comprehensive development of inclusive elderly care; Secondly, to strengthen guidance on investment and wealth management to bolster financial support for pension plans; Thirdly, to overcome barriers posed by the digital divide and enhance the accessibility of financial services; Fourthly, to augment policy backing and fortify the efficacy of financial oversight to guarantee the enduring and robust advancement of digital inclusive finance within the framework of inclusive elderly care; Lastly, to refine the pension security system to achieve diversification in elderly care services.