Does the Digital Economy Contribute to Low-Carbon Development? Evidence from China’s 278 Cities

Jiajia Zheng () and Xiuwen Xu
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Jiajia Zheng: Henan University
Xiuwen Xu: Henan University

Journal of the Knowledge Economy, 2025, vol. 16, issue 2, No 47, 7250-7280

Abstract: Abstract The digital economy significantly changes China’s economy and environment. Previous studies assume the unilateral effect of the digital economy on China’s low-carbon development and produce controversial conclusions. In this study, we use the panel two-tier stochastic frontier analysis, and results show that (1) the digital economy produces double-sided effects (increasing and decreasing effects) on carbon productivity between 2011 and 2021; (2) the two-sided effects and the net effect of the digital economy appear differently in provinces, regions, and city groups; (3) the sub-indicators of the digital economy show various trends along with the carbon productivity in different regions and city groups; and (4) policy implications in adjusting the various sub-indicators of the digital economy to coordinate the digital economy and low-carbon development are made accordingly.

Keywords: Digital economy; Carbon productivity; Two-tier stochastic frontier model; Heterogeneity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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DOI: 10.1007/s13132-024-02123-4

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