Catalyzing sustainable development through digitalization: the nexus between government digital transition and green total factor productivity

Abstract

Green total factor productivity (GTFP) represents a cornerstone for sustainable development; however, previous scholarship has primarily concentrated on market-based or technological determinants, frequently ignoring the impact of institutional governance. Comprehending the mechanisms through which digital public administration drives GTFP is vital for facilitating a profound ecological shift in both society and the broader economy. By utilizing the 2018 e-government comprehensive pilot as a quasi-natural experiment, we evaluate the impact of government digital transition on GTFP via a difference-in-differences (DID) framework, analyzing panel data from 285 Chinese municipalities spanning 2013 to 2021. The findings demonstrate that digital governance significantly improves GTFP, with the effect operating primarily through technological progress rather than technical efficiency change. These findings are robust across various specifications and validity checks. Heterogeneity results reveal that the positive impact is more noticeable in ordinary prefecture-level and inland urban centers, suggesting a compensatory role of institutional intervention. Mediation analyses reveal that digital government improves GTFP by enhancing government information transparency and fostering technological innovation. Moderation analyses further show that this positive effect is amplified where factor marketization and digital economy development are more advanced. By shifting the focus from traditional drivers to institutional governance, this paper offers novel perspectives on the digital government-GTFP nexus and provides policymakers concrete evidence on viable pathways to sustainable development.