The Impacts of the Digital Economy on the Development of Higher Education in China

The integration of the digital economy and higher education is a core driver of sustainable development, yet the mechanisms and heterogeneous effects of this interaction remain underexplored. Using balanced panel data from 30 Chinese provinces over 2011–2020, this study empirically investigates the impact of the digital economy on higher education development (scale, structure, quality) and its transmission channels. The digital economy development index (DEDI) is constructed via the entropy-weighted method, and a comprehensive empirical strategy is adopted, including baseline regression, instrumental variable (IV) estimation, difference-in-differences (DID), mediation analysis, and regional heterogeneity tests. The results reveal three key findings: (1) The digital economy exerts a significantly positive causal effect on higher education scale and structure optimization, with robustness confirmed by multiple tests. (2) It has no direct impact on higher education quality, but indirectly promotes quality through regional income levels, while institutional quality partially mediates the effect on structure. (3) Significant regional heterogeneity exists: the impact is strongest in eastern provinces, moderate in central provinces, and insignificant in western provinces, constrained by weak digital infrastructure. This study enriches the theoretical framework of digital economy–education interaction and provides actionable policy implications for promoting sustainable, balanced higher education development: strengthening digital infrastructure in underdeveloped regions, aligning educational structure with digital industrial demand, linking digital economic growth to educational investment, and implementing region-specific policies. These findings contribute to advancing the synergy between digital transformation and high-quality higher education, supporting long-term sustainable economic and social development.