IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/reveco/v96y2024ipcs1059056024007299.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Digital economy and environmental pollution in the manufacturing sector: Emission reduction effects and mechanisms

Author

Listed:
  • Tao, Jing
  • Xie, Xiaoqing
  • Peng, Rongsheng
  • Bei, Na

Abstract

Digital empowerment in the manufacturing industry serves as a pivotal strategy for China to mitigate pollutant emissions and achieve sustainable production. Utilizing industry panel data from 2001 to 2014, this study employs a two-way fixed effect model and a mediation effect model to empirically examine the impact of the digital economy on reducing emissions in China's manufacturing sector. It investigates the underlying mechanisms, providing novel evidence at the industry level for the relationship between the digital economy and environmental pollution reduction. The findings reveal that: (1) Enhancing digital investment significantly curtails pollution emissions in China's manufacturing industry, with variations in effectiveness depending on the knowledge intensity of specific subsectors. (2) Technological innovation and the rationalization of industrial structure are critical mechanisms by which the digital economy facilitates emission reductions in the manufacturing sector.

Suggested Citation

  • Tao, Jing & Xie, Xiaoqing & Peng, Rongsheng & Bei, Na, 2024. "Digital economy and environmental pollution in the manufacturing sector: Emission reduction effects and mechanisms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PC).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:96:y:2024:i:pc:s1059056024007299
    DOI: 10.1016/j.iref.2024.103737
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1059056024007299
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.iref.2024.103737?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pengpeng Yue & Aslihan Gizem Korkmaz & Zhichao Yin & Haigang Zhou, 2022. "The rise of digital finance: Financial inclusion or debt trap," Papers 2201.09221, arXiv.org.
    2. Jalil, Abdul & Feridun, Mete, 2011. "The impact of growth, energy and financial development on the environment in China: A cointegration analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(2), pages 284-291, March.
    3. Qiong Wang & Yihan Wei, 2023. "Research on the Influence of Digital Economy on Technological Innovation: Evidence from Manufacturing Enterprises in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-23, March.
    4. Gene M. Grossman & Alan B. Krueger, 1995. "Economic Growth and the Environment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(2), pages 353-377.
    5. Teece, David J., 2018. "Profiting from innovation in the digital economy: Enabling technologies, standards, and licensing models in the wireless world," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 47(8), pages 1367-1387.
    6. Xiaochen Leng & Guangji Tong, 2022. "The Digital Economy Empowers the Sustainable Development of China’s Agriculture-Related Industries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-22, September.
    7. Yu, Hongyang & Wang, Jinchao & Xu, Jiajun, 2023. "Assessing the role of digital economy agglomeration in energy conservation and emission reduction: Evidence from China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 284(C).
    8. Hongjuan Tang & Qi Yao & Francis Boadu & Yu Xie, 2022. "Distributed innovation, digital entrepreneurial opportunity, IT-enabled capabilities, and enterprises' digital innovation performance: a moderated mediating model," European Journal of Innovation Management, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 26(4), pages 1106-1128, January.
    9. Nagy K. Hanna, 2020. "Assessing the digital economy: aims, frameworks, pilots, results, and lessons," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 9(1), pages 1-16, December.
    10. Lu, Xiaomeng & Zhang, Xianjun & Guo, Jiaojiao & Yue, Pengpeng, 2024. "Digital finance era: Will individual investors become better players?," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    11. Lee, Chien-Chiang & He, Zhi-Wen & Xiao, Fu, 2022. "How does information and communication technology affect renewable energy technology innovation? International evidence," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 546-557.
    12. Guido W. Imbens & Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2009. "Recent Developments in the Econometrics of Program Evaluation," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 47(1), pages 5-86, March.
    13. Yue, Pengpeng & Korkmaz, Aslihan Gizem & Yin, Zhichao & Zhou, Haigang, 2022. "The rise of digital finance: Financial inclusion or debt trap?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 47(PA).
    14. Xu, Dandan & Guo, Dongli & Yue, Pengpeng & Li, Mengshi, 2024. "Household green consumption: Does digital inclusion matter?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    15. Recep Ulucak & Danish & Salah Ud‐Din Khan, 2020. "Does information and communication technology affect CO2 mitigation under the pathway of sustainable development during the mode of globalization?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(4), pages 857-867, July.
    16. Luo, Kang & Liu, Yaobin & Chen, Pei-Fen & Zeng, Mingli, 2022. "Assessing the impact of digital economy on green development efficiency in the Yangtze River Economic Belt," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    17. Zhou, Linjiang & Shi, Xiaochuan & Bao, Yaxiong & Gao, Lihua & Ma, Chao, 2023. "Explainable artificial intelligence for digital finance and consumption upgrading," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 58(PC).
    18. Romer, Paul M, 1990. "Endogenous Technological Change," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 71-102, October.
    19. Jiayue Liu & Jing Xie, 2020. "Environmental Regulation, Technological Innovation, and Export Competitiveness: An Empirical Study Based on China’s Manufacturing Industry," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-19, February.
    20. Capello, Roberta & Lenzi, Camilla, 2021. "Industry 4.0 and servitisation: Regional patterns of 4.0 technological transformations in Europe," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    21. Lyu, Wenjing & Liu, Jin, 2021. "Artificial Intelligence and emerging digital technologies in the energy sector," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 303(C).
    22. Chuanyu Zhao & Zhongquan Liu & Xianfeng Yan, 2023. "Does the Digital Economy Increase Green TFP in Cities?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-22, January.
    23. Ren-Long Zhang & Xiao-Hong Liu & Wei-Bo Jiang, 2023. "How Does the Industrial Digitization Affect Carbon Emission Efficiency? Empirical Measurement Evidence from China’s Industry," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-16, June.
    24. Tian, Guangning & Li, Bo & Cheng, Yue, 2022. "Does digital transformation matter for corporate risk-taking?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    25. Xusen Cheng & Jian Mou & Xiangbin Yan, 2021. "Sharing economy enabled digital platforms for development," Information Technology for Development, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(4), pages 635-644, October.
    26. Hao, Jing & Peng, Mengzu & He, Wenjia, 2023. "Digital finance development and bank liquidity creation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    27. Emmanouil Tranos & Tasos Kitsos & Raquel Ortega-Argilés, 2021. "Digital economy in the UK: regional productivity effects of early adoption," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 55(12), pages 1924-1938, December.
    28. Jason Hickel, 2019. "The contradiction of the sustainable development goals: Growth versus ecology on a finite planet," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 27(5), pages 873-884, September.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Hao, Xiaoli & Miao, Erxiang & Sun, Qingyu & Li, Ke & Wen, Shufang & Wu, Haitao, 2025. "When climate policy's up in the air: How digital technology impacts corporate energy intensity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dai, Siwei & Tang, Daoyun & Li, Yunfeng & Lu, Huaixin, 2025. "Digital trade, trade openness, FDI, and green total factor productivity," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    2. Wang, Bing & Liu, Yanyan & Yang, Xiangyu, 2024. "Digital economy and urban entrepreneurial activity," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    3. Tang, Chaoli & Dong, Shuyun & Zhou, Rui, 2025. "The impact of digitalization on corporate resilience," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    4. Liang, Guibao & Xia, Qiao & Zhang, Lijie, 2025. "Nonlinear influence of digital finance on green economic efficiency," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    5. Li, Yuantian & Xu, Haoyu & Li, Huiru & Xu, Yingming, 2025. "Digital economy, environmental regulations, and green economic development," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    6. Song, Yi & Zhang, Rui & Hao, Yuqing, 2025. "Digital economy, labor force transfer, and high-quality agricultural development," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    7. Zhou, Ling & Li, Yang, 2025. "Commercial credit supply in the digital economy era: Impact mechanisms and differences in property rights," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    8. Liu, Meihan & Zhao, Jingjie & Liu, Hongtao, 2025. "Digital transformation, employee and executive compensation, and sustained green innovation," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    9. Zhang, Yuan & Li, Ying, 2025. "Enhancing innovation capabilities, digital management, and corporate competitiveness," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    10. Zhang, Yujin & Ye, Shujun & Liu, Jie & Zhang, Lulu & Li, Jiayi, 2025. "Can digital transformation of commercial banks reduce green credit risks?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    11. Xu, Zhiyi & Yang, Jindi, 2025. "Impact of digital finance on rural industry revitalization," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    12. Tang, Xinhui & Du, Shujun & Deng, Wenwen, 2025. "Business innovation in digital startups: A case study of an AI startup," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    13. Xing, Manjiang & Gong, Chi & Moon, Gyu-Hyen & Ge, Xiaohong, 2025. "Digital economy, dual innovation capability and enterprise labor productivity," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    14. Zhang, Xinyu & Liu, Yixuan & Yu, Shaoze & Lin, Ouwen & Meng, Lu, 2025. "Impact of environmental protection tax on enterprise digital transformation: Evidence from Chinese listed firms," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    15. Wei, Feiqiong & Xie, Baiwei & Chen, Mingyan, 2025. "Digital financial inclusion, e-commerce development and entrepreneurial activity," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).
    16. Li, Pengcheng & Guo, Xiaochuan & Wang, Fengzheng & Zhang, Qifeng, 2025. "Digital transformation and corporate innovation boundaries: Role of supply chain concentration and transparency," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    17. Cui, Kai & Yang, Wen, 2025. "The digital economy and the resilience of enterprise exports: Supply chain stability as a mediator," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    18. Zhang, Li & Song, Xinwei, 2025. "Managerial overconfidence and corporate digital transformation," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).
    19. Chishti, Muhammad Zubair & Xia, Xiqiang & Du, Anna Min & Özkan, Oktay, 2025. "Digital financial inclusion, the belt and road initiative, and the Paris agreement: Impacts on energy transition grid costs," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    20. Xu, Guiyang, 2025. "KIBS Clustering, digital financial inclusion, and economic growth quality," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:reveco:v:96:y:2024:i:pc:s1059056024007299. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/inca/620165 .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.