| Abstract | Through the integration of information technology and financial transactions, Internet finance has innovated the organizational form of financial transactions and provided new ideas for promoting the supply-side reform of microfinance. Based on the micro-lending data of the “RENRENDAI” platform from 2010 to 2015, this paper studies the mechanism of financial development and informatization process on Internet financial participation rate and participation cost based on the dual perspectives of financial development theory and network economics. At the same time, it analyzes the impact of financial development on Internet financial participation under the difference of informatization process. Further combining the spatial characteristics of the long-term development of China's economy and the time dimension of Internet finance development, the differences between spatial and time dimensions are studied. Finally, based on the micro characteristics of borrowers, this paper analyzes how the micro characteristics of borrowers will affect the impact of financial development on Internet financial participation costs.
The research results show that traditional financial development has a macro-level substitution effect on the Internet financial participation rate and a crowding effect on the micro-level of participation costs by expanding financing channels, increasing market competition, and reducing opportunity costs. The intensification of the informatization process has profoundly changed the financial organization structure and the degree of information asymmetry of both parties to financial transactions, which in turn will increase the willingness of the long-tailed group to participate in Internet finance. The improvement of the informatization process can reduce the cost of information search and increase the efficiency of market operation by expanding the scope of information search and increasing the number of information searches, thereby reducing the participation cost of Internet finance. The intensification of the informatization process has weakened the alternativeness of traditional finance to the Internet financial participation rate by expanding the network externality of Internet finance. At the same time, the improvement of the informatization process will help reduce the market transaction friction of traditional finance and reduce transaction costs. Which increases the impact of traditional financial development on the cost of Internet financial participation. In underdeveloped regions, this indirect mechanism makes the substitution effect of traditional finance and internet finance stronger, and the effect of traditional financial development on micro-lending costs is greater, which means that online lending is expected to become an effective supplement to traditional financing models. Finally, with the reshaping of the financial competition pattern and the late-developing advantage of information technology, the inclusiveness of online lending will be further enhanced.
The reform of the financial supply side pointed out that finance should serve the substantial economy and promote economic transformation and upgrading. The financial industry needs to allocate financial resources more rationally and effectively, and improve the ability of the financial system to prevent and resolve financial risks. Long-tailed groups such as small and micro enterprises play an important role in creating jobs, expanding domestic demand, and promoting economic growth. Whether Macmillan gap of long tail group can be effectively alleviated is related to whether the supply-side reform of micro-finance can be realized smoothly. The conclusions of this paper can be seen that traditional financial and Internet financial participation has significant substitution; in areas with backward information technology, the indirect mechanism makes the substitution effect of traditional finance and Internet finance stronger, and the traditional financial development further squeezes the micro borrowing cost. It means that online lending is expected to be an effective complement to traditional financing models. Therefore, this paper believes that with the balanced development of traditional finance and Internet finance, the comprehensive regulation of online lending by the regulatory authorities, and the acceleration of the informatization process, the Macmillan gap of the long tail group is expected to be alleviated.
|