ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Impact of Climate Risk on Farmers’ Income:
The Moderating Role of Digital Inclusive Finance
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1
China Three Gorges University, Research Center for Reservoir Resettlement, Yichang 443002, China;
2
China Three Gorges University, College of Economics and Management, Yichang 443002, China
3
China Three Gorges University, Management Science and Engineering Post-Doctoral Research Station,
Yichang 443002, China
Submission date: 2023-10-21
Final revision date: 2023-11-10
Acceptance date: 2023-11-15
Online publication date: 2024-02-09
Publication date: 2024-03-18
Corresponding author
Zhennan Fan
China Three Gorges University, Research Center for Reservoir Resettlement, Yichang 443002, China
Pol. J. Environ. Stud. 2024;33(3):2799-2812
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ABSTRACT
A relatively high share of small-scale farmers in China is living in a precarious environment
that limits their productivity. Moreover, small-scale farmers are among the most vulnerable population
characterized by the lack of capital, therefore, they face difficulties in coping with the negative effects
of climate risk. A good financial system is among the numerous solutions to help farmers to be more
resilient to external risks. However, the traditional financial system often excludes the most vulnerable
population. Therefore, this study attempts to understand the relationship between climate risk, digital
inclusive finance, and the income of the farmers. Specifically, we want to verify if digital inclusive
finance mitigates the impact of climate risk, thus increasing the income of farmers. For that, we used
panel data from 288 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2020. We found that climate risk
decreases the income of farmers, and the magnitude of the effect of climate risk is higher for middle
and low-income farmers, for cities with a relatively low level of agricultural insurance, and in
the northern region. Thus, climate risk increases the income gap between farmers and between urban
and rural areas. Moreover, we found that digital inclusive finance, the coverage breadth, usage depth,
and digitalization level of digital finance mitigate the adverse effect of climate risk on the income
of farmers. This paper provides new perspectives for policymakers to mitigate the effect of climate
risk on the income of farmers, improve the ability of farmers to adapt to climate change and reduce
the income gap between farmers and between urban-rural areas.