Spatial relevancy of digital finance in the urban agglomeration of Pearl River Delta and the influence factors

At present, the rapid development of digital finance is closely related to the economic development of urban agglomerations. An urban agglomeration provides conditions for digital finance to form a spatial relevancy network. Exploring the development of digital finance in the urban agglomeration of the Pearl River Delta (PRD), which is the bellwether of China's economy, can provide important practical experience for the economic construction of coastal areas and even the whole country. In this study, using the urban digital finance index issued by the Guangzhou Institute of International Finance, we measured the intensity and direction of the spatial relevancy of digital finance in the PRD urban agglomeration by applying the gravity model, modified in the calculation of distance between cities. Then, we examined the influencing factors of the spatial network of digital finance through the quadratic assignment procedure (QAP) approach. The achieved results are as follows. First, although the overall density is low, the network is tightly connected and stable. Second, in terms of individual characteristics of the network, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Foshan still play the leading roles in the spatial network of digital finance. Third, the digital finance network does not have bidirectional spillover block. The links between segments are relatively loose. Fourth, economic level, degree of opening up, Internet level and geographical location are important factors in driving the formation of spatial relevancy of digital finance in the PRD urban agglomeration.