The Impact of Financial Inclusion on Sustainable Development in China: A Panel fsQCA Analysis

This study initially employs the Integrated Evaluation Method to assess financial inclusion and the sustainable development index from 2005 to 2021. Subsequently, the study uses fsQCA to examine how a combination of variables, including financial inclusion, technological innovation, foreign direct investment, household consumption levels, industrial structure, and urbanization, affects sustainable development at various levels. The findings indicate that financial inclusion, technological innovation, foreign investment, consumption, and urbanization are core conditions for High-SDI. In addition, the causal configurations associated with Low-SDI indicate that the absence of financial inclusion, technical innovation, and foreign investment are correlated with reduced sustainable development. Based on the results of panel data fsQCA, the sample is divided into three regions eastern, central, and western for empirical analysis. The empirical findings are notably consistent with the fsQCA configuration outcomes. This study provides policymakers with theoretical references on how to improve the level of sustainability in various regions of China.