Can the Digital Economy Promote Sustainable Improvement in the Quality of Employment for Chinese Residents?—Moderated Mediation Effect Test Based on Innovation Environments

Jiahe Liu, Yingzhu Fang, Yongxing Xia, Wenjie Zou (), Ka-Leong Chan, Johnny F. I. Lam and Huangxin Chen ()
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Jiahe Liu: School of Economics, Fujian Normal University of China, Fuzhou 350108, China
Yingzhu Fang: School of Economics, Fujian Normal University of China, Fuzhou 350108, China
Yongxing Xia: School of Economics, Fujian Normal University of China, Fuzhou 350108, China
Wenjie Zou: School of Economics, Fujian Normal University of China, Fuzhou 350108, China
Ka-Leong Chan: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Macao Polytechnic University, Macao, China
Johnny F. I. Lam: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Macao Polytechnic University, Macao, China
Huangxin Chen: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Macao Polytechnic University, Macao, China

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 14, 1-20

Abstract: Employment significantly impacts the national economy and people’s livelihoods and affects millions of households. How to effectively and sustainably improve the quality of employment for the population has thus become a key issue facing China at present. In recent years, under the strategic background of “Digital China” and “Employment Priority”, the digital economy has brought about profound changes in the efficiency, dynamics, and distribution of social production. It affects the quality of employment by creating jobs, reshaping employment patterns, and improving labor quality, but its impact and transmission path are still unclear. This research employs a multi-dimensional evaluation approach to score the digital economy and employment quality at the provincial level in China, utilizing data from the country’s provincial panels between 2012 and 2022, and examines the feasibility and effect pathways of the digital economy in promoting sustainable improvement in the quality of residential employment. The empirical results provide ample evidence of the significant role played by the digital economy in the sustainable improvement of the employment quality of the inhabitants. Regions with more robust innovation environments tend to benefit more from this impact, and there are discernible regional variations in the impact. The upgrading of industrial structure mediates this process, and the influencing mechanism is regulated by the innovation environment—that is, the innovation environment exerts a facilitating influence on the process of industrial restructuring. The findings herein offer novel insights into the intrinsic mechanism of the digital economy in promoting sustainable improvement in the quality of residential employment.

Keywords: digital economy; employment quality; industrial structure upgrading; mediating effect; moderating effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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