Carbon Emission Reduction Effects of the Digital Economy: Mechanisms and Evidence from 282 Cities in China

Ziyu Meng, Wen-Bo Li, Chaofan Chen () and Chenghua Guan ()
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Ziyu Meng: College of Business, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 999077, China
Wen-Bo Li: School of Economics and Resource Management, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Chaofan Chen: School of Economics and Resource Management, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Chenghua Guan: School of Economics and Resource Management, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China

Land, 2023, vol. 12, issue 4, 1-21

Abstract: The digital economy has great potential to boost innovation and social productivity, and it plays an important role in helping to achieve carbon peak and carbon neutrality. This study focuses on analyzing and testing the role of the digital economy in promoting carbon reduction in Chinese cities. Based on panel data of 282 cities in China from 2011 to 2019, this study measured the development level of the digital economy and carbon emission intensity by constructing a digital economy development level evaluation index system and a carbon emission inversion model, respectively. It was found that the digital economy can significantly reduce urban carbon emissions by promoting industrial structure upgrading and green innovation, and the digital economy will have a more obvious promotion effect on urban carbon emission reduction over time. This conclusion was found to be valid after we performed robustness tests such as the instrumental variable method, quasi-experimental analysis, and placebo test. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis showed that eastern, regenerative, and provincial capital cities are better able to promote carbon emission reduction under the development of the digital economy. This study provides new empirical evidence at the city level for developing the digital economy to reduce urban carbon emissions and acts as a useful reference for developing countries to realize “smart carbon emission reduction”.

Keywords: digital economy; urban carbon emissions; carbon emission inversion model; industrial structure upgrade; green innovation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q15 Q2 Q24 Q28 Q5 R14 R52 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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