The digital economy (DE) is a nascent economic model with the potential to mitigate urban industrial pollution (UIP) while encouraging high-quality economic expansion. This paper utilized panel data from 258 Chinese cities and employed the fixed-effects model, the mechanism test model, panel threshold model, and the spatial Durbin model to undertake an empirical investigation into the DE on UIP emissions. The research outcomes suggest that developing the DE has a positive influence on UIP reduction and that the effect of the DE on UIP reduction varies significantly across regions with different levels of industrial development, digital infrastructure, and environmental regulatory intensity. Further examination shows that the DE can reduce UIP by promoting public environmental concern and green technology innovation. Additionally, when the DE is used as a threshold variable, the DE’s impact on UIP emissions exhibits a nonlinear double-threshold effect, with two key turning points of 0.0921 and 0.5515, which constitute a three-stage model of “weak effect—strong effect—weak effect”. When human resource leve is used as a threshold variable, the impact of the digital economy on reducing urban industrial pollution is gradually increasing and exhibits a nonlinear single threshold effect. Under different geographical and economic distance spatial weight matrices, the DE’s development has a substantial negative spatial spillover effect on UIP emissions. That is, developing the local DE can directly reduce local UIP and significantly suppress UIP in neighboring areas indirectly through information sharing and technology diffusion. The findings of this study provide important management insights for government managers to advance environmental governance and promote green development.
The rapid advancement of scientific innovation and industrial restructuring has extensively promoted high-quality industrial development. However, whether the digital economy (
DE
) can effectively drive the green transformation (
GT
) of manufacturing remains uncertain. This study examines the influence of
DE
on
GT
in China’s manufacturing sector by developing an impact-effect model (
IEM
) to analyze their relationship. The study examines panel data from thirteen Heilongjiang cities using fixed-effect, quantile regression, and threshold models to assess
DE
impacts on
GT
across manufacturing industries. The results reveal heterogeneous effects: industries with lower levels of green development benefit more from
DE
, while advanced sectors experience reduced marginal gains. Digital technologies significantly aid eco-friendly transformation. The findings emphasize the importance of tailoring digitalization policies to industry-specific stages of green development to maximize
GT
potential. Targeted strategies, particularly for less environmentally friendly industries, are recommended to optimize the transformative role of
DE
in sustainable manufacturing.
Fengshi Han, Jiaying Feng, F. Shahzad· African and Asian Studies· 0 citations
Against the backdrop of the “dual carbon” goals and the green transformation of agriculture, it is of great significance to explore the impact and mechanisms through which the digital economy influences agricultural carbon emissions, thereby promoting low-carbon and sustainable agricultural development. Based on panel data from 30 Chinese provinces covering the period 2011–2024, this study empirically examines the impact of the digital economy on agricultural carbon emissions and its underlying mechanisms by constructing a two-way fixed-effects model. The empirical results show that the digital economy significantly reduces agricultural carbon emissions, a conclusion that holds after a series of robustness tests. Mediating mechanism analysis reveals that reductions in energy intensity and the optimized allocation of agricultural machinery act as mediators. Furthermore, the impact exhibits regional heterogeneity, being more pronounced in northwestern China and in areas with high agricultural carbon emissions. Based on these findings, relevant policy recommendations are proposed in terms of institutional design, system development, and policy guidance.
Chenxiang Shi, Zejiong Zhou· Frontiers in Humanities and...· 0 citations
Against the backdrop of global sustainable development, digital technology has become an important enabler for environmental governance and knowledge application. This study examines how digital infrastructure affects urban environmental performance and the moderating role of green digital strategy from a knowledge management perspective. Using panel data of 150 Chinese cities from 2015 to 2022, the authors conduct regression analysis, heterogeneity tests, and robustness checks. Results show that digital infrastructure significantly reduces energy consumption per unit GDP and carbon emission intensity, while green digital strategy strengthens this positive effect. Heterogeneous effects exist across city sizes: intelligent transportation facilities perform better in megacities, and communication networks are more effective in small and medium-sized cities. These findings enrich the theoretical framework of knowledge management for urban sustainability and provide practical implications for policymakers to design targeted digital and green knowledge systems.
Yifei Du, Hui Liu· International Journal of Kno...· 0 citations
Although the digital economy (DE) and sustainable urban systems have drawn growing attention, how DE drives urban energy transition (UET) remains insufficiently understood. Employing panel data from 266 Chinese cities spanning 2011–2021, this study applies fixed-effects, mediation, moderation, and spatial Durbin models to examine the impact of DE on UET. UET is measured by a composite index that captures energy system performance and transition readiness. The results show that DE is positively associated with UET, with a one-unit increase in DE corresponding to a 0.1566-unit increase in UET. This finding remains robust after employing an instrumental-variable approach and a battery of robustness checks, including an exogenous policy shock. This positive effect is partially mediated by reduced resource misallocation and industrial structure upgrading. When electricity intensity is treated as a moderating factor, cities with higher electricity intensity exhibit a more pronounced positive effect of DE on UET. Further evidence indicates that DE advances UET in the eastern, central, and western regions, but has a limited impact in the northeastern region. Additionally, DE exerts positive spillover effects, thereby advancing energy transition in neighboring cities.
Global climate change and environmental pollution have become critical constraints on sustainable development. As an essential institutional arrangement reconciling economic growth with environmental protection, green finance (GF) has emerged as a core driver of the global green transition. Using China’s 2017 establishment of the Green Finance Reform and Innovation Pilot Zones as a quasi-natural experiment, this study constructs a panel of 273 Chinese cities from 2008 to 2023. It applies a difference-in-differences model and a spatial Durbin model to systematically assess the direct, indirect, and spatial spillover effects of the green finance policy (GFP) on urban pollution and carbon emission reduction (PCR).The results indicate that GFP significantly advances PCR, with stronger effects observed in eastern and western regions, old industrial bases, and resource-based cities. The mechanism analysis reveals that GFP promotes PCR by enhancing the quantity of green innovation, reducing energy consumption intensity, and promoting green energy efficiency, while industrial structure upgrading exerts a temporary masking effect. The spatial analysis further shows that while GFP significantly enhances local PCR, it exerts a negative spillover effect on neighboring cities, with the influence confined within 300 kilometers and gradually weakening with distance. This study uncovers the internal logic through which GFP facilitates pollution and carbon emission reduction at the city level, offering robust empirical evidence and providing practical policy implications for developing economies aiming to enhance GF systems and advance sustainable development.
This study investigates how environmental regulation (envir) affects high-quality economic development using panel data from 278 Chinese prefecture-level cities over 2005–2023. Unlike prior work, this paper quantitatively compares three mediating pathways, green technological innovation (GTI), industrial structure rationalization (ISR), and industrial structure upgrading (ISU), within a unified mediation framework. The results show that envir’s impact operates almost entirely through indirect channels. GTI acts as a crucial mediator, transmitting 91.7% of the total effect, making it the strongest and most policy-responsive pathway. ISR functions at 61.3% transmission, while ISU operates at only 18.9% transmission. Regional heterogeneity corresponds to the marginal regulatory effectiveness gradient. The positive effect is strongest in the western region, insignificant in the central region, and negative (though not significant) in the eastern region. Policy implications are that environmental policies should prioritize green innovation incentives, complemented by structural rationalization, while adopting region-specific stringency levels to avoid diminishing returns.
Jia Wang, Bolegov Ai, Hangdi Zhao· Asian Journal of Water, Envi...· 0 citations