Blessings or curses? Exploring the impact of digital technology innovation on natural resource utilization efficiency in China

Senmiao Yang, Kangyin Dong (), Jianda Wang and Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary

Resources Policy, 2024, vol. 98, issue C

Abstract: With the increasing resource and environmental constraints and pollution, China urgently needs to improve the condition of resource utilization. Digital technology innovation is a powerful tool for resource optimization. Therefore, this paper explores the impact of digital technology innovation on natural resource utilization efficiency (NRUE) in China from 2006 to 2019 with the system-generalized method of moments (SYS-GMM). Besides, we investigate the mechanism and heterogeneity. The main conclusions show that: (1) Digital technology innovation can significantly improve NRUE. Every 1% rise in digital technology innovation causes a 0.024% increase in NRUE; (2) digital technology innovation can indirectly improve NRUE by promoting industrial structure optimization, strengthening pollution control, and promoting green credit; and (3) heterogeneity exists in the digital technology innovation-NRUE nexus, and the effects are more obvious in digital product manufacturing and northern China. The findings enrich the existing literature and provide enlightenment for the use of digital technology to improve NRUE in China.

Keywords: Natural resource utilization efficiency; Digital technology innovation; Industrial structure optimization; Pollution control; Green credit; China; Green Finance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C23 L86 O31 Q26 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jrpoli:v:98:y:2024:i:c:s030142072400686x

DOI: 10.1016/j.resourpol.2024.105319

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