Research on the Evolution Characteristics of Policy System That Supports the Sustainability of Digital Economy: Text Analysis Based on China’s Digital Economy Policies

Li Cai, Jianhua Xiao and Renxian Zuo ()
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Li Cai: School of Marxism, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing 100081, China
Jianhua Xiao: School of Public Policy and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
Renxian Zuo: School of Information Management, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 9, 1-31

Abstract: The high-quality and sustainable development of the digital economy cannot be achieved without the support of the policy system. The purpose of this article is to scientifically analyze the laws and characteristics of the policy system that supports the sustainability of the digital economy. Specifically, based on public policy theory, this article constructs an analytical framework of “policy objectives—policy tools—organizational management” and incorporates the “central-local” relationship with Chinese characteristics into the framework. Meanwhile, text analysis was used to quantitatively analyze 971 digital economy policies issued by the central and local governments in China from 2000 to 2022. Research shows that the central government of China has taken the lead in introducing digital economy policies, and local governments are able to respond quickly. The central government’s digital economy policy goals fluctuate and change, while local governments pay more stable attention to the digital product service industry. Both central and local governments widely use supply oriented policy tools and environmental-oriented policy tools, while demand-oriented policy tools are not widely applied. The vertical relationship between central and local data management agencies is still unclear, and the degree of cross departmental and cross regional cooperation is not high. Meanwhile, empirical analysis based on the two-way fixed effects model shows that technological innovation, R&D funding, and industrial structure have a significant impact on changes in digital economy policies. This article summarizes the characteristics of the evolution of digital economy policies in the Chinese context, providing policy design references for promoting the sustainability of the digital economy and methodological insights for policy research in other fields.

Keywords: digital economy; policy design; sustainability; text analysis method (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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