Moderating role of digital financial inclusion in the nexus between financial inclusion and sustainable livelihood of marine fishermen

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), set by the United Nations, aim to ensurethe well-being of people, thereby making well-being the core of the development agenda. In line with the SDGs, this study seeks to investigate the impact of financial inclusion on the sustainable livelihood of the marine fishermen in Ganjam and Puri districts of Odisha. Further, it aims to investigate the moderating impact of digital financial inclusion on the relationship between financial inclusion and sustainable livelihood. With 490 sample data, this study applies Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) and Moderation analysis techniques to assess the impacts. The findings document a positive impact of financial inclusion on sustainable livelihood . Digital financial inclusion is seen to have a positive effect on sustainable livelihood. However, the moderating impact remains negative, denoting diminishing marginal returns to sustainable livelihood from the joint expansion of both financial and digital financial inclusion. This finding is understood in the context of capability constraints and digital divide, where effective utilisation of digital financial services is constrained by poor technological skills and infrastructural support. Based on these findings, the study calls for policy initiatives to strengthen digital literacy, improve rural digital infrastructure, and promote user-friendly financial technologies, which can ensure complementarity between digital financial inclusion and traditional financial inclusion efforts. This study contributes to the existing literature on the financial inclusion and sustainable livelihood nexus by revealing the conditional role of digital financial inclusion in promoting sustainable livelihood outcomes.