Digital Finance, Industrial Structure, and Total Factor Energy Efficiency: A Study on Moderated Mediation Model with Resource Dependence

Xiaoheng Zhang, Keyu Bao (), Zebin Liu () and Li Yang
Additional contact information
Xiaoheng Zhang: School of Economic and Management, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China
Keyu Bao: School of Economic and Management, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China
Zebin Liu: School of Finance and Mathematics, Huainan Normal University, Huainan 232038, China
Li Yang: School of Economic and Management, Anhui University of Science and Technology, Huainan 232001, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 22, 1-19

Abstract: China’s main energy structure is dominated by coal. The burning of coal is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, making China the largest carbon emitter. Facing double pressure on ecological protection and economic development, improving energy efficiency is more practical than reducing coal utilization. In this context, digital finance can be a vital engine that supports a transition to a low-carbon economy. Based on panel data for 2011 to 2019 of 30 provinces in China, this study probes the effect of digital finance on the total factor energy efficiency and constructs a moderated mediating effect model to analyze the mechanism of action. The results show that: (1) digital finance is able to improve the total factor energy efficiency, (2) the industrial structure plays a mediating effect, which is regionally heterogeneous, and (3) the above transmission path is affected by the degree of regional resource dependence. With the deepening of resource dependence, the role of digital finance in driving energy efficiency through the industrial structure is enhanced. This research demonstrates the effectiveness of digital finance in energy efficiency improvement and develops ideas for ecological governance and sustainable development.

Keywords: total factor energy efficiency; digital finance; industrial structure; resource dependence; moderated mediating effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/22/14718/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/22/14718/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:22:p:14718-:d:966790

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().