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Digital Economy and Urban Carbon Emissions: A Quasi-Natural Experiment of the National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone in China

Author

Listed:
  • Liqun Pan
  • Yu Zhang
  • Jing Li
  • Feng Lin

Abstract

In this study, we assess the impact of digital economy development on urban carbon emissions using a difference-in-differences (DID) approach based on the quasi-natural experiment of the national big data comprehensive pilot zone (NBDCPZ) policy and panel data from 168 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2019. We find that the establishment of NBDCPZ has a significant carbon emission reduction effect. This finding is robust to various sensitivity tests. Further mechanism validation illustrates that the construction of NBDCPZ promotes the regional digital development level and reduces urban carbon emissions through three channels: improving energy efficiency to optimize energy consumption, increasing green total factor productivity, and promoting the clustering of high-tech industries. The heterogeneity analysis concludes that the carbon emission reduction effect of NBDCPZ policy varies with different regional locations and different city characteristics. Moreover, using spatial models, we find that the positive impact is characterized by spatial spillover effect. The findings provide detailed empirical evidence to formulate urban development strategies for enabling carbon reduction of the digital economy. JEL Classification: O30, Q53, Q55, Q58, R10

Suggested Citation

  • Liqun Pan & Yu Zhang & Jing Li & Feng Lin, 2024. "Digital Economy and Urban Carbon Emissions: A Quasi-Natural Experiment of the National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone in China," The Energy Journal, , vol. 45(6), pages 107-134, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:enejou:v:45:y:2024:i:6:p:107-134
    DOI: 10.1177/01956574241280816
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. You, Jiansheng, 2026. "Does digital governance improve urban carbon balance? Evidence from China’s e-governance pilot," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 606-625.
    2. Yuqian Zhang & Yixuan Wang & Chenchen Su & Jiahong Guo & Chen Xu, 2025. "Assessing the impact of China's National Big Data Comprehensive Pilot Zone policy on agricultural carbon emissions," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 71(5), pages 242-253.
    3. Wang, Wenchao & Liu, Yang & Dong, Xiucheng, 2025. "Digital infrastructure’s environmental Paradox? Evidence from China’s national big data comprehensive pilot zones," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 281-307.
    4. Shoufu Lin & Quan Lin & Qian Wang & Chenyong Shi & Marcel Ausloos, 2025. "Driving Green Transformation Through the National Digital Economy Innovation Pilot: A Quasi-Experimental Study on Reducing Urban Energy Intensity in 282 Chinese Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(13), pages 1-21, June.

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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • O30 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - General
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q55 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Technological Innovation
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • R10 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - General

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