Is the Fintech Era Making Us Happy?

Abstract

This study investigates the interactions between financial technology (Fintech) and happiness sentiment under economic stability from 15 July 2015 to 31 December 2019 and global volatility from 01 January 2020 to 31 December 2021. We examine the relation between daily changes in the Fintech and happiness proxies based on the bivariate generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity modeling with conditional correlation mechanisms. We find a statistically significant result that the Fintech proxy negatively affects happiness sentiment, regardless of economic contexts. This implies a trade-off between Fintech and happiness, which is additionally supported by the negative impact of happiness on Fintech in the context of global volatility. We further indicate that the happiness objective shall be more concentrated during uncertainties. Empirical findings clarify how the Fintech innovation is challenged and generate the happiness standard to assess the prospect of financial technology in future. We recommend that policymakers should consider happiness goals in pursuit of technological innovation in the context of digital era.