IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i16p7233-d1721572.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can Functional Industrial Policy Promote Digital–Green Synergy Development?

Author

Listed:
  • Xiekui Zhang

    (China-ASEAN School of Economics & School of Economics & China-ASEAN Institute of Financial Cooperation, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China)

  • Zhusheng Wu

    (China-ASEAN School of Economics & School of Economics & China-ASEAN Institute of Financial Cooperation, Guangxi University, Nanning 530004, China)

  • Zefeng Zhang

    (School of Humanities and Public Administration, Baise University, Baise 533000, China)

Abstract

Against the backdrop of China’s high-quality development strategy, promoting the synergistic transformation of digitalization and greening in enterprises has become a critical pathway toward achieving sustainable economic and environmental development. This paper takes the MIC2025 as a quasi-natural experiment and constructs a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) model to evaluate the policy’s impact on the digital–green synergy development (DGSD) of firms, using data from A-share listed companies in China from 2011 to 2022. The empirical results indicate that the implementation of MIC2025 significantly improves DGSD. This conclusion remains robust under a series of tests, including heterogeneous DID specifications, placebo tests, machine learning approaches, and instrumental variable estimation. Further heterogeneity analysis reveals substantial differences in policy effects across regions, city and firm characteristics. A mechanism analysis revealed that the MIC2025 policy effectively enhances corporate DGSD by alleviating financing constraints and incentivizing innovation in digital and green technologies. Additionally, companies in strategic industries exhibit a stronger DGSD growth momentum. This study provides both theoretical support and empirical analysis for understanding how functional industrial policy can promote digital–green synergy, offering valuable insights for policy implications and future research optimization.

Suggested Citation

  • Xiekui Zhang & Zhusheng Wu & Zefeng Zhang, 2025. "Can Functional Industrial Policy Promote Digital–Green Synergy Development?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(16), pages 1-36, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:16:p:7233-:d:1721572
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/16/7233/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/16/7233/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Wang, Teng & Zhao, Xiaoyang & Li, Xiaotong, 2025. "Geographical influences, media attention and enterprise digital transformation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).
    2. Victor Chernozhukov & Denis Chetverikov & Mert Demirer & Esther Duflo & Christian Hansen & Whitney Newey & James Robins, 2018. "Double/debiased machine learning for treatment and structural parameters," Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 21(1), pages 1-68, February.
    3. Yang, Xiaoran & Ran, Rong & Chen, Yejing & Zhang, Jie, 2024. "Does digital government transformation drive regional green innovation? Evidence from cities in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    4. Chen, Wen & Zhang, Qiuyue, 2025. "Can corporate climate risk drive digital transformation? Evidence from Chinese heavy-polluting enterprises," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    5. Huang, Xiulu & Wang, Xiaoyu & Ge, Pengfei, 2024. "Selective industrial policy and innovation resource misallocation," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 124-146.
    6. Zhefan Piao & Xie Chen & Yang Li & Kun Yang, 2025. "How does green finance overcome the bottleneck of green productivity? Moderating effects of green transformation," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 58(1), pages 1-40, February.
    7. Lin, Boqiang & Pan, Ting, 2024. "The impact of green credit on green transformation of heavily polluting enterprises: Reverse forcing or forward pushing?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    8. Zhang, Zeyi & Luo, Xuehua & Du, Jiating & Xu, Baoliang, 2025. "Does green credit accelerate green transformation of heavily polluting enterprises?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    9. Fang, Mingyue & Nie, Huihua & Shen, Xinyi, 2023. "Can enterprise digitization improve ESG performance?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    10. Bai, Junhong & Cai, Qishuo & Yao, Nengzhi & Guo, Qiaozhe, 2025. "Government industrial priorities, public corporate governance and corporate innovation: A political push perspective," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(C), pages 1885-1900.
    11. Branstetter, Lee G. & Li, Guangwei & Ren, Mengjia, 2023. "Picking winners? Government subsidies and firm productivity in China," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(4), pages 1186-1199.
    12. Daron Acemoglu & Simon Johnson & James A. Robinson, 2001. "The Colonial Origins of Comparative Development: An Empirical Investigation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 91(5), pages 1369-1401, December.
    13. Cherniwchan, Jevan, 2017. "Trade liberalization and the environment: Evidence from NAFTA and U.S. manufacturing," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 130-149.
    14. Chen, Kaixuan & Zhang, Shushan, 2024. "How does open public data impact enterprise digital transformation?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 178-190.
    15. Xiaohui Chen & Li Zhang & Xiang Cheng, 2024. "Fiscal decentralization and the development of the digital economy: evidence from China," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(3), pages 276-292, July.
    16. Tchorzewska, K.B. & Garcia-Quevedo, J. & Martinez-Ros, E., 2022. "The heterogeneous effects of environmental taxation on green technologies," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(7).
    17. Zhengang Zhang & Peilun Li & Liangxiong Huang & Yichen Kang, 2024. "The impact of artificial intelligence on green transformation of manufacturing enterprises: evidence from China," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(4), pages 1-36, August.
    18. Sun, Guanglin & Fang, Jiming & Li, Jinning & Wang, Xiaolin, 2024. "Research on the impact of the integration of digital economy and real economy on enterprise green innovation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    19. Zhang, Weijie & Li, Bowen, 2025. "Energy-use rights trading, technological innovation, and green transformation of energy-intensive manufacturing enterprises," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 528-544.
    20. Cheng, Hang & Ruan, Ping & Wang, Peng, 2024. "The impact of surging computing power on enterprise digital transformation–Based on quasi-natural experiments set up by the National Supercomputing Center," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    21. Goodman-Bacon, Andrew, 2021. "Difference-in-differences with variation in treatment timing," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 254-277.
    22. Wenjing Bi & Yifei Li & Xiaotao Zhang & Tenglong Zhong, 2024. "Labor protection and enterprise digital transformation: A quasi‐natural experiment based on the enforcement of Social Insurance Law in China," Economics and Politics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(2), pages 708-733, July.
    23. Rahman, Sohanur, 2024. "The importance of green patents for CDS pricing: The role of environmental disclosures," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    24. Yang, Haochang & Li, Lianshui & Liu, Yaobin, 2022. "The effect of manufacturing intelligence on green innovation performance in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    25. Chuanlin Wang & Guowan Yan & Juan Ou, 2023. "Does Digitization Promote Green Innovation? Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-27, February.
    26. Dongfeng Chen & Junpeng Wang & Bin Li & Huihui Luo & Guangming Hou, 2025. "The Impact of Digital–Green Synergy on Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from Chinese Listed Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-40, March.
    27. Zhang, Bingbing & Yu, Lan & Sun, Chuanwang, 2022. "How does urban environmental legislation guide the green transition of enterprises? Based on the perspective of enterprises' green total factor productivity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 110(C).
    28. Jiafeng Gu, 2024. "Peer influence, market power, and enterprises' green innovation: Evidence from Chinese listed firms," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(1), pages 108-121, January.
    29. Sanjaya Lall, 2013. "Reinventing Industrial Strategy: The Role Of Government Policy In Building Industrial Competitiveness," Annals of Economics and Finance, Society for AEF, vol. 14(2), pages 785-829, November.
    30. Li, Zhenghui & Huang, Zimei & Su, Yaya, 2023. "New media environment, environmental regulation and corporate green technology innovation:Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Arne Henningsen & Guy Low & David Wuepper & Tobias Dalhaus & Hugo Storm & Dagim Belay & Stefan Hirsch, 2024. "Estimating Causal Effects with Observational Data: Guidelines for Agricultural and Applied Economists," IFRO Working Paper 2024/03, University of Copenhagen, Department of Food and Resource Economics.
    2. Wang, Deli & Liu, Xiaoyuan & Hu, Shiyang & Wu, Shangrui, 2025. "The value of digital government transformation: Evidence from R&D subsidy efficiency in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    3. Zhang, Jingxue & Yu, Shiwei & Zhang, Yue-Jun & Su, Bin & Sun, Ya-Fang, 2025. "How do renewable energy policies affect energy green development? Evidence from Chinese listed energy firms," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(C).
    4. Aurélien Saïdi & Alexandra Schaffar & Francisco Serranito, 2025. "L’impact de l’indépendance sur le développement des petites économies insulaires et côtières : une approche par la méthode des doubles différences," EconomiX Working Papers 2025-11, University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX.
    5. Mark Kattenberg & Bas Scheer & Jurre Thiel, 2023. "Causal forests with fixed effects for treatment effect heterogeneity in difference-in-differences," CPB Discussion Paper 452, CPB Netherlands Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis.
    6. Susan Athey & Guido Imbens & Zhaonan Qu & Davide Viviano, 2025. "Triply Robust Panel Estimators," Papers 2508.21536, arXiv.org, revised Sep 2025.
    7. Yantuan Yu & Ning Zhang, 2025. "Revealing the Power of Market-Based Energy Policy: Evidence from China’s Energy Quota Trading System Using Machine Learning," Working papers 2025rwp-258, Yonsei University, Yonsei Economics Research Institute.
    8. Su, Xuewei & Wang, Kaike, 2025. "Carbon dioxide emission reduction effects of non-economic sector tournaments: Evidence from the national civilized city selection," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    9. Dmitry Arkhangelsky & Guido Imbens, 2023. "Causal Models for Longitudinal and Panel Data: A Survey," Papers 2311.15458, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2024.
    10. Boese-Schlosser, Vanessa A. & Eberhardt, Markus, 2023. "How Does Democracy Cause Growth?," Discussion Papers, Research Unit: Transformations of Democracy SP V 2023-501, WZB Berlin Social Science Center.
    11. Peixian Liu & Lei Wang & Fanglei Zhong & Ning Han & Dezhao Zhao, 2025. "Unveiling the Impact of Public Data Access on Urban Polycentric Structure: Evidence from China," Land, MDPI, vol. 14(8), pages 1-24, August.
    12. Dmitry Arkhangelsky & Guido W. Imbens & Lihua Lei & Xiaoman Luo, 2021. "Design-Robust Two-Way-Fixed-Effects Regression For Panel Data," Papers 2107.13737, arXiv.org, revised Mar 2024.
    13. Caraballo-Cueto, Jose, 2025. "Does sovereignty help economic growth? A recent reassessment," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    14. John A. List & Ian Muir & Gregory Sun, 2024. "Using machine learning for efficient flexible regression adjustment in economic experiments," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 44(1), pages 2-40, July.
    15. Shucheng Nie & Guixia Wang, 2025. "The Impact of Government-Led Green Certification on Enterprise Green Transformation—Evidence from Green Factory Recognition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-20, March.
    16. Philipp Bach & Sven Klaassen & Jannis Kueck & Mara Mattes & Martin Spindler, 2025. "Sensitivity Analysis for Treatment Effects in Difference-in-Differences Models using Riesz Representation," Papers 2510.09064, arXiv.org.
    17. Neerbewendé Abdoul Rachid Pafadnam, 2024. "How does implementing the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) affect economic growth? Evidence from developing countries," Post-Print hal-04727043, HAL.
    18. Junhao Zhong & Zhenzhen Wang & Yunfeng Deng, 2025. "Driving the Green Transformation of Enterprises: The Role of Patent Insurance," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 46(2), pages 1373-1391, March.
    19. He, Wenjian & Wang, Xiaodong & Miao, Miao, 2024. "Network infrastructure and corporate environmental performance: Empirical evidence from “Broadband China”," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    20. Chao Wang & Jiapeng Li & Yang Yi & Shuwang Yang, 2024. "Crowding in or crowding out? Executive environmental attention and ESG performance of mining listed companies," Mineral Economics, Springer;Raw Materials Group (RMG);Luleå University of Technology, vol. 37(4), pages 897-913, December.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    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:17:y:2025:i:16:p:7233-:d:1721572. 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.