IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pone00/0308285.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can digital economy promote urban export sophistication? Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Qin Zhu
  • Haijing Yu
  • Zhimei Wan

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of digital economy development on urban export sophistication and its mechanisms. We use the chain mediation effect model to analyze the panel data of 281 cities in China from 2011 to 2017. The results show that the digital economy has a significant and positive impact on urban ES. There are two main influence paths. One promotes urban ES by accumulating human capital; the other stimulates technological innovation and further leads to urban ES. The “technological innovation effect” plays the most considerable mediating role among them. The heterogeneity test result shows that the digital economy impact is greater in western China than in eastern and central regions. We further show that the influence of the regional digital economy on urban ES presents an inverted U-shaped curve. Our paper provides guidance for promoting the construction of and the high-quality development of trade.

Suggested Citation

  • Qin Zhu & Haijing Yu & Zhimei Wan, 2024. "Can digital economy promote urban export sophistication? Evidence from China," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(11), pages 1-19, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0308285
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0308285
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0308285
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0308285&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pone.0308285?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sandra Poncet & Felipe Starosta, 2013. "Export upgrading and growth in China: the prerequisite of domestic embeddedness," PSE - G-MOND WORKING PAPERS halshs-00960684, HAL.
    2. Poncet, Sandra & Starosta de Waldemar, Felipe, 2013. "Export Upgrading and Growth: The Prerequisite of Domestic Embeddedness," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 104-118.
    3. Wu, Feifei & Yang, Hongna & Gao, Bo & Gu, Yan, 2021. "Old, not yet rich? The impact of population aging on export upgrading in developing countries," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    4. Luo, Kang & Liu, Yaobin & Chen, Pei-Fen & Zeng, Mingli, 2022. "Assessing the impact of digital economy on green development efficiency in the Yangtze River Economic Belt," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    5. Zhang, Hongsheng & Liu, Qingqing & Wei, Yueling, 2023. "Digital product imports and export product quality: Firm-level evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    6. Su, Xiaoyan & Anwar, Sajid & Zhou, Ying & Tang, Xuan, 2020. "Services trade restrictiveness and manufacturing export sophistication," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    7. Kaufmann, A. & Lehner, P. & Todtling, F., 2003. "Effects of the Internet on the spatial structure of innovation networks," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 15(3), pages 402-424, September.
    8. Nath, Hiranya K. & Liu, Lirong, 2017. "Information and communications technology (ICT) and services trade," Information Economics and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 81-87.
    9. repec:hal:pseose:halshs-00960684 is not listed on IDEAS
    10. Shuzhong Ma & Jiwen Guo & Hongsheng Zhang, 2019. "Policy Analysis and Development Evaluation of Digital Trade: An International Comparison," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 27(3), pages 49-75, May.
    11. Liu, Yuandan & Tang, Tingfeng & Ah, Ranran & Luo, Limin, 2024. "Has digital technology promoted the restructuring of global value chains? Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 269-280.
    12. Yifei Mu & Zhen Chen & Yibing Ding & Yuqing Wang & Bo Pang, 2020. "How the Internet Promotes China's Exports: A Firm‐level Perspective," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 28(5), pages 118-142, September.
    13. Chen Li & Chunyan Liu & Jun Zhao, 2021. "The effects of inward and outward foreign direct investment on manufacturing export sophistication in China," Applied Economics Letters, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(20), pages 1758-1766, November.
    14. Sergey Evgenievich Barykin & Anna Viktorovna Strimovskaya & Sergey Mikhailovich Sergeev & Larisa Nikolaevna Borisoglebskaya & Natalia Dedyukhina & Igor Sklyarov & Julia Sklyarova & Lilya Saychenko, 2023. "Smart City Logistics on the Basis of Digital Tools for ESG Goals Achievement," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(6), pages 1-20, March.
    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. Balland, Pierre-Alexandre & Broekel, Tom & Diodato, Dario & Giuliani, Elisa & Hausmann, Ricardo & O'Clery, Neave & Rigby, David, 2022. "Reprint of The new paradigm of economic complexity," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(8).
    2. Yuwan Duan & Erik Dietzenbacher & Bart Los & Ruochen Dai, 2023. "Regional inequality in China during its rise as a giant exporter: A value chain analysis," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(1), pages 148-172, January.
    3. Katharina Längle, 2020. "Upgrading of Exports: Does the Integration into Trade Agreements Pave the Way to Product Upgrading?," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne 20006, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    4. Xuewei Wang & Fayyaz Ahmad & Jie Wang & Hongzhen Luo & Abbas Ali Chandio & Salim Khan, 2025. "Environmental regulation and export sophistication impact on Chinese firms: a global value chain perspective," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(2), pages 4203-4223, February.
    5. Gauvin, Ludovic & Rebillard, Cyril, 2013. "Towards Recoupling? Assessing the Impact of a Chinese Hard Landing on Commodity Exporters: Results from Conditional Forecast in a GVAR Model," MPRA Paper 65457, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    6. Saafi Sami & Nouira Ridha, 2018. "Re-Examining the Relationship Between Export Upgrading and Economic Growth: Is there a Threshold Effect?," The Economic and Social Review, Economic and Social Studies, vol. 49(4), pages 437-454.
    7. Sèna Kimm Gnangnon, 2023. "Do unilateral trade preferences help reduce poverty in beneficiary countries?," International Journal of Economic Policy Studies, Springer, vol. 17(1), pages 249-288, February.
    8. Shengjun Zhu & Canfei He & Qian Luo, 2019. "Good neighbors, bad neighbors: local knowledge spillovers, regional institutions and firm performance in China," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 52(3), pages 617-632, March.
    9. Heder de Oliveira & Timo Verheij, 2017. "Is Economic Complexity Spatially Dependent? A spatial analysis of interactions of economic complexity between municipalities in Brazil," EcoMod2017 10537, EcoMod.
    10. Ulrich Schetter, 2019. "A Structural Ranking of Economic Complexity," Growth Lab Working Papers 148, Harvard's Growth Lab.
    11. Yundan Gong & Aoife Hanley, 2021. "Exports and New Products in China – A Generalised Propensity Score Approach with Firm-to-Firm Spillovers," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(12), pages 2136-2155, December.
    12. Vaseem Akram & Badri Narayan Rath, 2017. "Export Diversification and Sources of Growth in Emerging Market Economies," Global Economy Journal (GEJ), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 17(3), pages 1-13, September.
    13. Zhou, Fengxiu & Wen, Huwei & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2022. "Broadband infrastructure and export growth," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(5).
    14. Ludovic Gauvin & Cyril C. Rebillard, 2018. "Towards recoupling? Assessing the global impact of a Chinese hard landing through trade and commodity price channels," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(12), pages 3379-3415, December.
    15. Mealy, Penny & Teytelboym, Alexander, 2022. "Economic complexity and the green economy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 51(8).
    16. Jérôme Valette, 2018. "Do Migrants Transfer Productive Knowledge Back to Their Origin Countries?," Journal of Development Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(9), pages 1637-1656, September.
    17. Ray, Anna, 2016. "Expanding Multinationals - Conglomerate M&A and Activity-Basket Proximity," Conference papers 332693, Purdue University, Center for Global Trade Analysis, Global Trade Analysis Project.
    18. Olivier Cadot & Jaime de Melo & Patrick Plane & Laurent Wagner & Martha Tesfaye Woldemichael, 2016. "Industrialisation et transformation structurelle : l’Afrique subsaharienne peut-elle se développer sans usines ?," Revue d’économie du développement, De Boeck Université, vol. 24(2), pages 19-49.
    19. Pang, Suqin & Li, Zhaohua & Wang, Yong, 2024. "Digital technology and domestic value-added ratio in export: Evidence from China's pilot zones for integrating informatization and industrialization," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 84(C), pages 424-439.
    20. Haini, Hazwan & Wei Loon, Pang & Li Li, Pang, 2023. "Can export diversification promote export upgrading? Evidence from an oil-dependent economy," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).

    More about this item

    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:plo:pone00:0308285. 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: plosone (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/ .

    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.