Economic Implications of Digital Transformation on Pollution Reduction: A BART Analysis of Firm-Level Data

Xiaohui Xu and Xiaoshi Chen
Additional contact information
Xiaohui Xu: Zhejiang Sci-tech University, People's Republic of China
Xiaoshi Chen: Zhejiang Sci-tech University, People's Republic of China

Asian Journal of Applied Economics/ Applied Economics Journal, 2025, vol. 32, issue 1, 125-152

Abstract: Prior research has primarily examined the average economic effects of digital transformation, with limited attention to its heterogeneous treatment effects. This study applies the Bayesian Additive Regression Tree (BART) approach to analyze how digital transformation influences firms’ pollution emissions and its broader economic implications. Using a dataset of 32,340 firm-year observations from Chinese A-share listed companies (2007–2022), we find that the impact of digital transformation on pollution emissions varies significantly across firms. The key economic mechanisms driving this effect include increased green innovation, more efficient factor allocation, and enhanced firm positioning within social networks. These findings offer new insights into the role of digital transformation in corporate environmental strategies, firm productivity, and economic sustainability, highlighting its differential effects across firms.

Keywords: digital transformation; enterprise emissions; green innovation; BART (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C14 O33 Q53 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://so01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/AEJ/article/view/276518 Full text
Asian Journal of Applied Economics/ Applied Economics Journal

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:ris:apecjn:0113

Access Statistics for this article

Asian Journal of Applied Economics/ Applied Economics Journal is currently edited by Waleerat Suphannachart

More articles in Asian Journal of Applied Economics/ Applied Economics Journal from Kasetsart University, Faculty of Economics, Center for Applied Economic Research Center for Applied Economics Research, Faculty of Economics, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, 10900, Thailand. Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Arannee Tongjankaew ().