SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT IN THE DIGITAL ERA: THE ROLE OF DIGITAL FINANCE IN EMERGING ECONOMIES
Main Article Content
Abstract
This study aims to examine the impact of digital finance on sustainable development in 29 emerging economies over the period 2009-2023. Using the Method of Moments Quantile Regression (MMQR) and Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) on a balanced panel dataset, the study captures the heterogeneous effects of financial infrastructure, mobile connectivity and Internet connectivity across different levels of sustainable development. The empirical findings reveal that digital financial infrastructure significantly promotes sustainable development, although the magnitude and significance of the effects vary across quantiles. Financial infrastructure exhibits a diminishing effect at higher levels of SDG performance, Internet connectivity consistently enhances sustainable development across all quantiles, while mobile connectivity becomes significant only in upper quantiles, reflecting the importance of digital ecosystem maturity. This study contributes to the literature by providing novel evidence on the heterogeneous role of digital financial infrastructure in advancing sustainable development within emerging economies and by offering policy implications for designing context-specific digital transformation strategies.
Keywords
Digital financial infrastructure; Sustainable development; SDG Index; MMQR; FGLS
Article Details
Field of Economic (JEL Codes)
G10 - General - General Financial Markets, O16 - Financial Markets • Saving and Capital Investment • Corporate Finance and Governance - Economic Development
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