The Relationship between Financial Literacy and Income Structure of Rural Farm Households: Evidence from Jiangsu, China

Abstract

Improving the income of rural residents is a requirement for poverty alleviation in all countries. Based on China Land Economic Survey (CLES) 2021 data, this paper investigates the homogenous and heterogeneous relations between financial literacy and the income structure of rural farm households. It finds that financial literacy is significantly related to farmers’ income levels, which still holds after the robustness testing. Regarding the structure of household income, financial literacy has a more profound association with farmers’ property income than wage income. Moreover, it has a relatively weak impact on transfer income with significance. Financial literacy has a more significant role in increasing the income of farmers with higher income levels than lower income levels. Moreover, it has different impacts on the income structure of different income groups. Therefore, this paper suggests that the government should co-operate with county-seated financial institutions to provide farmers with regular financial literacy education.