IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/teinso/v87y2026ics0160791x26001326.html

Green growth in the digital age: The causal interactions between digital finance, green technology innovation, and ecological welfare performance

Author

Listed:
  • Zhang, Yu
  • Yang, Fan
  • Mao, Yanying
  • Jiao, Liudan
  • Huo, Xiaosen
  • Shuai, Chenyang

Abstract

Amid global sustainability challenges, digital finance (DF) has emerged as a transformative force in shaping green technology innovation (GTI) and ecological welfare performance (EWP). Moving beyond traditional one-way analyses, this study develops an integrated framework to examine the complex interrelationships within the DF-GTI-EWP system. Using data from 273 Chinese cities between 2011 and 2023, and employing a combination of the Generalized Method of Moments-Panel Vector Autoregression (GMM-PVAR), threshold regression, and structural equation modeling, the study yields several key insights. First, there are dynamic interdependencies within the system, characterized by bidirectional linkages between DF and GTI, as well as between GTI and EWP, alongside a unidirectional DF→EWP effect. Second, GTI plays a significant mediating role in transmitting the effects of DF on EWP. Third, the effects of DF vary across its subdimensions: the digitization level (DL) exerts the strongest influence on EWP, while usage depth (UD) primarily stimulates GTI. Finally, notable threshold effects are identified: DL must exceed 240.91 to improve EWP, and digital divide (DD) levels above 0.94 offset the environmental benefits of DL. These findings provide actionable policy insights for designing phased interventions and tailored digital finance tools to better align financial digitization with sustainability goals.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhang, Yu & Yang, Fan & Mao, Yanying & Jiao, Liudan & Huo, Xiaosen & Shuai, Chenyang, 2026. "Green growth in the digital age: The causal interactions between digital finance, green technology innovation, and ecological welfare performance," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:87:y:2026:i:c:s0160791x26001326
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2026.103343
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X26001326
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techsoc.2026.103343?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

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:teinso:v:87:y:2026:i:c:s0160791x26001326. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/technology-in-society .

    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.