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Interaction between Digital Economy and Environmental Pollution: New Evidence from a Spatial Perspective

Author

Listed:
  • Sa Xu

    (School of Economics and Management, Hunan Institute of Technology, Hengyang 421002, China)

  • Cunyi Yang

    (School of Economics and Statistics, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China)

  • Zhehao Huang

    (Guangzhou Institute of International Finance, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510405, China)

  • Pierre Failler

    (Centre for Blue Governance, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 3DE, UK)

Abstract

The digital economy and the green economy are two major issues for economic recovery in the post epidemic era. From spatial interaction spillover, we analyze and measure the relationships between the digital economy and environmental pollution in 287 prefecture-level cities in China from 2008 to 2018 using simultaneous spatial equations and the generalized 3-stage least square (GS3SLS) method. The results show that: (1) there is a reverse and complex spatio-temporal evolution of the digital economy and environmental pollution in Chinese cities. (2) There is a spatial interaction spillover effect between the digital economy and environmental pollution. Local digital economy and environmental pollution inhibit each other. The digital economy and environmental pollution have a significant spatial spillover. The digital economy of surrounding regions has a suppressive effect on local environmental pollution. The environmental pollution of surrounding cities has a crowding-out effect on the local digital economy. (3) Digital economy suppresses environmental pollution through the green development effect and innovative development effect; environmental pollution suppresses the digital economy through the talent crowding out effect and the policy tightening effect. The conclusion of this paper provides evidence for the coupling and coordinated development between the digital and green economy, which is of great significance for promoting the transformation of economic development modes and realizing green and high-quality development.

Suggested Citation

  • Sa Xu & Cunyi Yang & Zhehao Huang & Pierre Failler, 2022. "Interaction between Digital Economy and Environmental Pollution: New Evidence from a Spatial Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-23, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:9:p:5074-:d:799144
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    Cited by:

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    7. Lu Liu & Yuxin Meng & Qiying Ran, 2023. "The Impact and Mechanism of the Digital Economy on Carbon Emission Efficiency: A Perspective Based on Provincial Panel Data in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-15, September.
    8. Mingyue Du & Siyu Ren, 2023. "Does the digital economy promote industrial green transformation? Evidence from spatial Durbin model," Journal of Information Economics, Anser Press, vol. 1(1), pages 1-17, January.
    9. Lifang Zhang & Yuexu Zhao, 2023. "Research on the Coupling Coordination of Green Finance, Digital Economy, and Ecological Environment in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-16, May.
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    11. Shijin Wang & Fan Tong, 2022. "Impact of Internet Development on Carbon Emissions in Jiangsu, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(24), pages 1-14, December.
    12. Zhu, Minglei & Huang, Haiyan & Ma, Weiwen, 2023. "Transformation of natural resource use: Moving towards sustainability through ICT-based improvements in green total factor energy efficiency," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    13. Guoteng Xu & Shuai Peng & Chengjiang Li & Xia Chen, 2023. "Synergistic Evolution of China’s Green Economy and Digital Economy Based on LSTM-GM and Grey Absolute Correlation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-29, September.
    14. Xiaoli Wu & Yaoyao Qin & Qizhuo Xie & Yunyi Zhang, 2022. "The Mediating and Moderating Effects of the Digital Economy on PM 2.5 : Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-17, November.
    15. Xing Zhang & Jian Zhong & Huanfang Wang, 2023. "Does the Development of Digital Economy Affect Environmental Pollution?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(12), pages 1-18, June.
    16. Yukun Ma & Shaojian Wang & Chunshan Zhou, 2023. "Can the Development of the Digital Economy Reduce Urban Carbon Emissions? Case Study of Guangdong Province," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-13, March.
    17. Jiaoning Zhang & Xiaoyu Ma & Jiamin Liu, 2022. "How Can the Digital Economy and Human Capital Improve City Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-18, November.
    18. Xiaoming Song & Ze Tian & Chenhui Ding & Chao Liu & Wei Wang & Ronggai Zhao & Yingchun Xing, 2022. "Digital Economy, Environmental Regulation, and Ecological Well-Being Performance: A Provincial Panel Data Analysis from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-21, September.
    19. Weiran Cao & Zengjie Cai & Xu Yao & Lifeng Chen, 2023. "Digital Transformation to Help Carbon Neutrality and Green Sustainable Development Based on the Metaverse," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-15, April.
    20. Senhua Huang & Wenzhong Ye & Feng Han, 2023. "Does the Digital Economy Promote Industrial Collaboration and Agglomeration? Evidence from 286 Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-24, October.
    21. Zhiqiang Zhou & Wenyan Liu & Huilin Wang & Jingyu Yang, 2022. "The Impact of Environmental Regulation on Agricultural Productivity: From the Perspective of Digital Transformation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-19, August.
    22. Fengge Yao & Ying Song & Xiaomei Wang, 2023. "How the Digital Economy Empowers the Structural Upgrading of Cultural Industries—An Analysis Based on the Spatial Durbin Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-17, October.
    23. Senhua Huang & Feng Han & Lingming Chen, 2023. "Can the Digital Economy Promote the Upgrading of Urban Environmental Quality?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-21, January.
    24. Li, Shuangyan & Chang, Ge & Zunong, Reyihanguli, 2023. "Does regional digital economy development influence green investment?," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 2(3).

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