IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i19p12143-d924983.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can Environmental Regulation Improve High-Quality Economic Development in China? The Mediating Effects of Digital Economy

Author

Listed:
  • Jun Wang

    (College of Urban Economics and Public Administration, Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing 100070, China
    Beijing Key Laboratory of Megaregions Sustainable Development Simulation, Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing 100070, China)

  • Guixiang Zhang

    (College of Urban Economics and Public Administration, Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing 100070, China
    Beijing Key Laboratory of Megaregions Sustainable Development Simulation, Capital University of Economics and Business, Beijing 100070, China)

Abstract

Environmental regulation is an effective environmental policy tool, which can balance the interests of the government, enterprises, and the public and can effectively address the internalization of environmental externalities. The digital economy has emerged as a brand-new force for the advancement of high-quality economic development. In order to successfully come true to high-quality economic development based on coordinated development of environmental protection and economic growth, the primary objective of this paper is to investigate whether environmental regulation promotes high-quality economic development from a digital economy perspective. This paper empirically analyzed the impact of environmental regulation on high-quality economic development in 236 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2019, using the mediation effect model, threshold regression model, and spatial Durbin model. The results demonstrated that environmental regulation has a significant positive effect on the general high-quality economic development. Specifically, formal environmental regulation has a positive nonlinear effect with decreasing marginal effect on high-quality economic development, whereas informal environmental regulation has a positive nonlinear effect with increasing marginal effects. The digital economy is an important path for environmental regulation to strengthen high-quality economic development. Environmental regulation and the digital economy jointly promote high-quality economic development. In spatial effects, formal environmental regulation has a negative spatial spillover effect on high-quality economic development, whereas informal environmental regulation has a positive spatial spillover effect. Based on these conclusions, it is proposed that the government should actively develop and strengthen the interaction mechanism between formal and informal environmental regulation, enhance the integration of digital platforms and environmental regulation, and develop a coordinated development mechanism for the environment and economy across regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Jun Wang & Guixiang Zhang, 2022. "Can Environmental Regulation Improve High-Quality Economic Development in China? The Mediating Effects of Digital Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-21, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:19:p:12143-:d:924983
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/19/12143/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/19/12143/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Pan, Wenrong & Xie, Tao & Wang, Zhuwang & Ma, Lisha, 2022. "Digital economy: An innovation driver for total factor productivity," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 303-311.
    2. Juan Lin & Zhou Yu & Yehua Dennis Wei & Mingfeng Wang, 2017. "Internet Access, Spillover and Regional Development in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-18, June.
    3. Liang Chen & Wanli Li & Kaibin Yuan & Xiaoqian Zhang, 2022. "Can informal environmental regulation promote industrial structure upgrading? Evidence from China," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(19), pages 2161-2180, April.
    4. R. De Santis & P. Esposito & C. Jona Lasinio, 2021. "Environmental regulation and productivity growth: Main policy challenges," International Economics, CEPII research center, issue 165, pages 264-277.
    5. Yusaku Nishimura, 2020. "New normal and new economy: a new growth engine for China," International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 301-312, August.
    6. Xiaohui Chen & Dou Yan & Wen Chen, 2022. "Can the digital economy promote FinTech development?," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 53(1), pages 221-247, March.
    7. Xiaosheng Li & Yunxia Shu & Xin Jin, 2022. "Environmental regulation, carbon emissions and green total factor productivity: a case study of China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 2577-2597, February.
    8. Bei Xiong & Ruimei Wang, 2020. "Effect of Environmental Regulation on Industrial Solid Waste Pollution in China: From the Perspective of Formal Environmental Regulation and Informal Environmental Regulation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(21), pages 1-17, October.
    9. Chenhui Ding & Chao Liu & Chuiyong Zheng & Feng Li, 2021. "Digital Economy, Technological Innovation and High-Quality Economic Development: Based on Spatial Effect and Mediation Effect," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(1), pages 1-21, December.
    10. Xie, Rong-hui & Yuan, Yi-jun & Huang, Jing-jing, 2017. "Different Types of Environmental Regulations and Heterogeneous Influence on “Green” Productivity: Evidence from China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 104-112.
    11. Carlsson, Bo, 2004. "The Digital Economy: what is new and what is not?," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 245-264, September.
    12. Serdar Yilmaz & Kingley E. Haynes & Mustafa Dinc, 2002. "Geographic and Network Neighbors: Spillover Effects of Telecommunications Infrastructure," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 42(2), pages 339-360, May.
    13. Barbera, Anthony J. & McConnell, Virginia D., 1990. "The impact of environmental regulations on industry productivity: Direct and indirect effects," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 18(1), pages 50-65, January.
    14. Feng, Suling & Zhang, Rong & Li, Guoxiang, 2022. "Environmental decentralization, digital finance and green technology innovation," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 70-83.
    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. Zhenhua Xu & Fuyi Ci, 2023. "Spatial-Temporal Characteristics and Driving Factors of Coupling Coordination between the Digital Economy and Low-Carbon Development in the Yellow River Basin," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-23, February.
    2. Xiao Han & Yining Chen & Hehua Zhao, 2023. "Temporal–Spatial Evolution, Influencing Factors, and Driving Mechanisms of Environmental Regulation Performance Disparities: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-26, July.
    3. Li Li & Yifan Dou & Xin Cao & Wenli Ding, 2025. "The Impact of Digital Divide on the Level of High-Quality Economic Development: Evidence from China-ASEAN," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(2), pages 7235-7249, June.
    4. Rong Xu & Huixian Yao & Junfeng Li, 2025. "Digital Economy’s Impact on High-Quality Economic Growth: a Comprehensive Analysis in the Context of China," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 16(1), pages 2861-2879, March.
    5. Wenjun Ge & Siyuan Wu & Derong Yang, 2024. "Who are the genuine contributors to economic development under environmental regulation? Evidence from total factor productivity in the three industries," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(9), pages 22801-22838, September.
    6. 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.

    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. Zhang, Wei & Liu, Xuemeng & Wang, Die & Zhou, Jianping, 2022. "Digital economy and carbon emission performance: Evidence at China's city level," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 165(C).
    2. Jun Wang & Guixiang Zhang, 2022. "Dynamic Evolution, Regional Differences, and Spatial Spillover Effects of Urban Ecological Welfare Performance in China from the Perspective of Ecological Value," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-24, December.
    3. Jun Wu & Tianyi Chen, 2022. "Impact of Digital Economy on Dual Circulation: An Empirical Analysis in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-15, November.
    4. Zitian Fu & Shunyu Yao & Reza Farzipoor Saen & Kaiyang Zhong & Yan Liu, 2025. "Impact of digital transformation on agricultural ecological efficiency: empirical findings from China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 8557-8595, April.
    5. Zhang, Huaqing & Cai, Cen & Zhang, Xiangjian & Tu, Yongqian & Zhu, Qianyu, 2024. "Relationship between business environment and regional innovation level: Examining the moderating role of digital finance," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).
    6. Feifei Ye & Rongyan You & Haitian Lu & Sirui Han & Long-Hao Yang, 2023. "The Classification Impact of Different Types of Environmental Regulation on Chinese Provincial Carbon Emission Efficiency," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-24, August.
    7. Ran, Qiying & Yang, Xiaodong & Yan, Hongchuan & Xu, Yang & Cao, Jianhong, 2023. "Natural resource consumption and industrial green transformation: Does the digital economy matter?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    8. Na Lu & Tiantian Shan & Wen Li & Xuan Liu & Weidong Wang, 2025. "Does the Digital Economy Promote Green Land Use Efficiency?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-22, August.
    9. Yanli Ji & Jie Xue & Kaiyang Zhong, 2022. "Does Environmental Regulation Promote Industrial Green Technology Progress? Empirical Evidence from China with a Heterogeneity Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-23, January.
    10. Kun Wang & Bing Chen & Yuhong Li, 2024. "Technological, process or managerial innovation? How does digital transformation affect green innovation in industrial enterprises?," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(1), pages 1-32, February.
    11. Fu, Shuke & Ge, Yingchen & Hao, Yu & Peng, Jiachao & Tian, Jiali, 2024. "Energy supply chain efficiency in the digital era: Evidence from China's listed companies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    12. YuBiao Hao & XueCheng Zhang, 2023. "The impact of environmental regulation on urban green output efficiency: evidence from China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(6), pages 5717-5735, June.
    13. Huang, Jie & Lu, Hongyang & Du, Minzhe, 2025. "Can digital economy narrow the regional economic gap? Evidence from China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    14. Sangeeta Bansal & Massimo Filippini & Suchita Srinivasan, 2023. "How Regulation Might Fail to Reduce Energy Consumption While Still Stimulating Total Factor Productivity Growth," CER-ETH Economics working paper series 23/379, CER-ETH - Center of Economic Research (CER-ETH) at ETH Zurich.
    15. Zhiqiang Zhou & Wenyan Liu & Pengfei Cheng & Zhenjin Li, 2022. "The Impact of the Digital Economy on Enterprise Sustainable Development and Its Spatial-Temporal Evolution: An Empirical Analysis Based on Urban Panel Data in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-23, September.
    16. Qiao, Penghua & Liu, Siting & Fung, Hung-Gay & Wang, Chen, 2024. "Corporate green innovation in a digital economy," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 870-883.
    17. Xin Tan & Jinfang Jiao & Ming Jiang & Ming Chen & Wenpeng Wang & Yijun Sun, 2024. "Digital Policy, Green Innovation, and Digital-Intelligent Transformation of Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-23, August.
    18. Umair Kashif & Junguo Shi & Sihan Li & Qinqin Wu & Qiuya Song & Shanshan Dou & Mengjie Wei & Snovia Naseem, 2024. "Navigating the digital divide: unraveling the impact of ICT usage and supply on SO2 emissions in China’s Yangtze River Delta," Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-10, December.
    19. Wei Yang & Qiuxia Chen & Qiuqi Guo & Xiaoting Huang, 2022. "Towards Sustainable Development: How Digitalization, Technological Innovation, and Green Economic Development Interact with Each Other," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-17, September.
    20. Liu, Yuanyang & Tian, Xuemei & Long, Yang, 2025. "Digital economy and corporate ESG performance: Cost reduction or efficiency improvement?," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).

    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:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:19:p:12143-:d:924983. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.