Digital finance for economic resilience: the uneven impact of Fintech across urban China

Introduction This study examines the uneven impact of financial technology (Fintech) on economic resilience with empirical case of Chinese cities. Results The results reveal a U-shaped relationship between Fintech development and economic resilience: while early-stage Fintech may have limited or even adverse effects, mature Fintech development level significantly enhance resilience. Mechanism analysis shows that Fintech promotes resilience by expanding financial scale and easing financing constraints. Furthermore, the impact of Fintech is found to be heterogeneous: it is more pronounced in cities with lower innovation capacity, smaller populations, and less population density. Discussion These findings underscore the transformative but uneven role of digital finance in promoting urban resilience, offering policy-relevant insights for fostering inclusive and regionally balanced development.