Digital government and mineral resources trade: The role of digital financial inclusion

Abstract

The mineral resources trade is significant because these minerals are crucial in developing green and clean energy equipment and plants, which is key to achieving sustainable development targets. However, no past studies have focused on finding the determinants of trade in mineral resources. This analysis fills the gap by analyzing how digital government and digital financial inclusion affect mineral resources trade using the two-stage least squares (2SLS) and generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation techniques. The findings indicate that digital government and financial inclusion promote mineral trade. The interaction between digital government and digital financial inclusion also helps increase the trade of mineral resources. In addition, logistic performance, GDP, and foreign direct investment all play a significant role in boosting trade in mineral resources, while the energy security risks and consumer price index hinder the trade in mineral resources. These findings suggest that policymakers should increase the role of digitalization in the administrative and financial setups to fasten the trade in mineral resources.