湖南省数字金融对制造企业智能化水平的影响效应与作用机制

Effects and Mechanisms of Digital Finance on the Intelligence Level of Manufacturing Enterprises in Hunan Province

摘要: 立足湖南省“三高四新”战略定位，数字金融作为破解制造业智能化改造融资约束、畅通产业链数智化升级资金渠道的重要工具，研究其对区域制造业智能化转型的影响效应与作用机制有着重要的意义。本文以2020~2024年湖南省沪深A股制造业上市公司非平衡面板数据为样本，讨论数字金融对制造企业智能化水平的影响效应、传导路径及异质性特征。研究结果表明：数字金融总指数、覆盖广度与使用深度均能显著提升制造企业智能化水平，且覆盖广度的赋能效果更强；机制检验显示，研发投入是数字金融赋能企业智能化升级的核心显著传导路径；数字金融覆盖广度可提升企业政府创新补助水平，数字金融使用深度能够有效推动企业数字化转型；异质性分析表明，数字金融对制造企业智能化水平的促进作用在成熟期、高科技、大市值制造企业中更为突出，成长期、衰退期、非高科技、中市值制造企业赋能效应相对偏弱。最后从完善区域数字金融体系、分层分类精准扶持制造企业等角度提出对策，为中部省份制造业智能化升级提供经验参考。

Abstract: Based on the strategic positioning of the “Three Highs and Four New Initiatives” in Hunan Province, digital finance serves as a vital instrument to ease financing constraints in the intelligent transformation of manufacturing industries and secure financial support for the digital and intelligent upgrading of industrial chains. It is of great significance to explore its impacts and underlying mechanisms on the regional intelligent transformation of manufacturing sectors. Using the unbalanced panel data of A-share listed manufacturing companies in Hunan Province from 2020 to 2024, this paper empirically investigates the effects, transmission paths and heterogeneous characteristics of digital finance on enterprises’ intelligence level. The results show that the aggregate index, coverage breadth and usage depth of digital finance all significantly improve the intelligence level of manufacturing enterprises, with coverage breadth exerting a stronger enabling effect. Mechanism tests indicate that R&D investment acts as the core significant transmission channel through which digital finance facilitates enterprises’ intelligent upgrading. The coverage breadth of digital finance helps raise the amount of government innovation subsidies received by firms, while the usage depth of digital finance effectively accelerates corporate digital transformation. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the promoting effect of digital finance is more pronounced for enterprises in the mature stage, high-tech enterprises and large-market-value manufacturing firms, whereas the enabling effect is relatively weaker for enterprises in the growth or recession stage, non-high-tech enterprises and medium-market-value enterprises. Accordingly, this paper puts forward policy suggestions including improving the regional digital finance system and implementing targeted categorized support for manufacturing enterprises, so as to provide empirical references for the intelligent upgrading of manufacturing industries in central China.