Modeling the impact of digital economy on urban environmental pollution: Empirical evidence from 277 prefecture-level cities in China

Abstract

With the recent technological advancements, such as the internet, big data, and cloud computing, China’s digital economy plays a significant role in economic development. However, the digital economy may also affect the environmental quality, but the prevailing literature is scant on how the digital economy affects urban environmental pollution. To fill this gap, this study established an urban digital economy index system based on 277 prefecture-level cities in China and calculated their digital economy indicators from 2011 to 2019. Using a two-way fixed effects model, a mediation effect model and a moderation effect model, a multi-dimensional empirical test is conducted to determine the impact of the digital economy on urban pollution effects and internal mechanisms. Empirical results indicate that the digital economy significantly reduces urban pollutant emissions and shows spatial heterogeneity. After a series of robustness tests and endogenous analysis, our findings are consistent. The mechanism test results reveal that the digital economy can help mitigate pollution emissions through improved industrial structure, promotion of green innovation, and financial development. Further, the empirical results also demonstrate that government intervention can significantly enhance the negative environmental impact of the digital economy. Moreover, the findings from the heterogeneity test (i.e., city size, time, and space heterogeneity) show that the development of the digital economy is more significant in reducing urban pollution in large and eastern coastal cities. While the digital economy development policy impact of the digital economy on reducing pollution has been found after being adjusted by the national strategy. Our study enriches the research regarding the causes and mechanisms of environmental pollution, provides empirical evidence that the digital economy contributes to pollution control and provides decision-making references for enabling the growth of the digital economy and maximizing its pollution reduction power.

Effects of Big Data on PM2.5: A Study Based on Double Machine Learning

“…Contrarily, another investigation highlighted that the growth of the digital economy resulted in a significant decrease in pollution levels in the eastern region and a notable reduction in CO 2 emissions in the western region [49]. Bai et al (2022) [50] corroborated these findings, revealing that larger cities, with their advanced digital infrastructure and systems, were more effective in reducing pollution. Nevertheless, the influence of the digital economy and big data is not universally positive.…”

Research on the impact of digital economy on green total factor productivity: theoretical mechanism and multidimensional empirical analysis

“…Additionally, it has the potential to decrease environmental pollution in nearby regions by breaking down spatial and information barriers (Xu et al, 2022;Yi et al, 2022). The impact of DE on environmental pollution exhibits regional heterogeneity, with a less inhibitory effect observed in non-resource-based cities, western cities, and small cities (Bai et al, 2022;Che and Wang, 2022;Huang et al, 2023). However, the exponential growth of DE has resulted in a substantial rise in energy usage associated with digital infrastructure and the overall ICT industry.…”

The impact of the digital economy on creative industries development: Empirical evidence based on the China

“…In terms of environmental protection, there is a non-linear relationship between the digital economy and carbon emissions. Some studies have shown that the digital economy has slowed down carbon emissions, reduced air pollution, and promoted green development of the economy [ 8 – 10 , 25 , 26 ], But there are also studies indicating that the digital economy will increase energy consumption [ 27 ]. At the micro level, digital technologies have made a substantial significant contribution to firm output [ 28 ], force financial services institutions to adopt technologies that help deliver high-quality services at a minimal cost [ 29 ].…”

“…Second, the studies of the digital economy on the environmental field and green development, such as promoting the clean energy development [8], Optimizing Urban Carbon Emissions [9], Control of urban environmental pollution, etc. [10]. The third aspect is the impact on other industries, such as tourism [11][12][13], development of manufacturing industry [14], the business model of creative industry, etc.…”