The Mechanism and Empirical Study of Digital Economy Empowering High-quality Regional Economic Development

Abstract

With the rapid penetration of digital technology, the digital economy has become a core driving force for transforming regional economic development models and promoting high-quality economic growth. This study aims to explore the internal mechanism and empirical effect of the digital economy empowering high-quality regional economic development. Based on the panel data of 30 provincial-level regions in China from 2018 to 2023, this paper adopts the entropy weight TOPSIS method to measure the development level of the digital economy and regional high-quality economic development. The empirical results show that the digital economy has a significant positive driving effect on regional high-quality economic development. Mechanism analysis indicates that the digital economy promotes high-quality economic growth by optimizing industrial structure, improving resource allocation efficiency and stimulating technological innovation vitality. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the empowering effect is more prominent in eastern coastal regions than in central and western regions. This study provides empirical evidence and policy enlightenment for regions to rely on digital transformation to achieve high-quality economic development.