Can Data Elements Promote the High-Quality Development of China’s Economy?

In recent years, the digital economy, with data as the key production factor, has developed rapidly and become the driving force of China’s high-quality economic development. The relationship between data factors and high-quality economic development has gradually become a key topic of academic research. Based on the panel data of 30 provincial-level regions in China from 2014–2021, this study first constructs the proposed data factors and economic high-quality development evaluation indexes, respectively, by using the entropy weight method, and empirically analyzes whether data factors can promote economic high-quality development by using regression models. The results demonstrate the following: (1) Data elements play an important driving role in high-quality economic growth, and they have become an important engine for sustainable economic growth. (2) The development level of data elements has a stable growth rate and obvious regional differences, showing a pattern of “strong in the east and weak in the west, strong in the south and weak in the north”. (3) The degree of influence of data elements on different dimensions of high-quality economic development is inconsistent, with a greater influence on coordinated development, green development, and innovation development, while the effect on open development is not obvious. The above findings provide a reference and scientific basis for countries to formulate relevant policies to fully release the vitality of data elements and promote high-quality economic development.