The Green Effects of DIF: Corporate Green Production’s Stimulation of Residents’ Low-Carbon Consumption

Abstract

Against the background of full implement of China’s “dual-carbon” strategy and the rapid expansion of the digital economy, clarifying the mechanisms through which digital inclusive finance (DIF) contributes to green consumption is of both theoretical and practical importance. Using a matched panel dataset of Chinese prefecture-level cities and listed firms from 2011 to 2019, this study develops an integrated analytical framework linking DIF, corporate green production, and residents’ low-carbon consumption preferences. Two-way fixed-effects models and firm-level mediation regressions are employed to examine the green effects of DIF. The results indicate that: (1) DIF significantly enhances residents’ low-carbon consumption preferences, and this effect remains robust after controlling for socioeconomic characteristics; (2) DIF strengthens corporate green production by increasing green total factor productivity, stimulating green technological innovation, and alleviating financing constraints; (3) Corporate green production further reinforces residents’ low-carbon consumption preferences through supply-side channels such as the expansion and upgrading of green products, as well as demand-side channels including environmental improvement and green information spillovers; (4) DIF exhibits a clear chain transmission mechanism, operating through the pathway “DIF → corporate green production → residents’ low-carbon consumption preferences.” The innovation of this paper lies in: constructing a green transmission mechanism identification framework covering both the urban and enterprise dimensions, and for the first time systematically verifying the path through which DIF influences residents’ preference for low-carbon consumption by promoting green production of enterprises, and revealing the formation logic of green consumption from both the supply and demand sides. The research conclusions provide empirical evidence for the coordinated design of digital finance and green development policies.