The Impact of Digitization on Urban Social–Ecological Resilience: Evidence from Big Data Policy Pilots in China

Yucen Zhou (), Zhong Wang, Lifeng Liu, Yanran Peng and Beatrice Ihimbazwe
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Yucen Zhou: College of Public Administration, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China
Zhong Wang: School of Public Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Lifeng Liu: School of Public Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Yanran Peng: School of Public Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
Beatrice Ihimbazwe: School of Public Administration, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 2, 1-27

Abstract: Digitization plays a vital role in fostering economic and social development. This study empirically investigates the impact of digitization on urban industrial structures, technological innovation, public service levels, and social–ecological resilience. Various approaches, including the two-tier stochastic, spatial econometric, and panel threshold models, have been employed to analyze panel data from 287 cities from 2008 to 2023. These data are examined through a quasi-natural experiment analyzing the evolution of urban social–ecological resilience following China’s promotion of the national comprehensive pilot zone for big data. The findings are as follows. (1) The positive effects of digitization on urban social and ecological resilience substantially outweigh the negative effects, with an overall increasing trend in the positive net effect, albeit with significant regional differences. (2) Digitalization exhibits a significant spatial spillover effect, enhancing local social–ecological resilience while inhibiting improvements in neighboring cities. (3) Technological innovation and public service levels positively affect social–ecological resilience, whereas industrial structure upgrading has a negative indirect effect. Both industrial structure upgrading and public service levels demonstrate nonlinear effects under the threshold constraints of the intermediary mechanism. (4) In terms of policy mechanisms, regional differences in the urban industrial structure, innovation capacity, and public service levels must be considered. This approach is essential for promoting the organic integration of digitization across regions, mitigating the polarization effect, and enhancing the diffusion effect.

Keywords: digitization; social–ecological resilience; comprehensive pilot zone; spillover effects; nonlinear effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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