Does Fintech influence green utilization efficiency of mineral resources? Evidence from China's regional data

The extraction and utilization of mineral resources often lead to environmental pollution and resource depletion, highlighting the urgent need to improve green utilization efficiency. At the same time, Fintech, a fusion of financial services and technological innovation, transforms the traditional financial landscape and significantly affects natural resource markets. Given this, we examines the impact of Fintech on the mineral resources green utilization efficiency (Mrgue) across 30 provincial-level administrative regions in China from 2012 to 2021. The results show that Fintech significantly boosts Mrgue, particularly in the eastern regions of China. However, these effects are less pronounced in the central and western regions. The marginal impact of Fintech on Mrgue is notably positive and strengthens at higher quantiles. A significant improvement in Mrgue is observed only after Fintech surpasses a specific threshold. Lastly, Fintech promotes Mrgue by driving green technological innovation and optimizing the energy consumption structure. These findings offer insights for policymakers to understand Fintech's role better and leverage it to advance Mrgue.