Does digital economy affect the quantity and efficiency of carbon emissions: evidence from dynamic spatial Durbin model analysis

The digital economy development has the potential to contribute significantly to reducing carbon emissions and improving emission efficiency. However, existing studies on the relationship between digital economy development and carbon emissions are still limited and lack comprehensive and concrete explanations. The study attempts to be carried out from two dimensions of carbon emissions: quantity and efficiency. Based on the panel data from 278 cities in China from 2011 to 2019, this paper constructs a Dynamic Spatial Durbin Model (DSDM) to analyze the effect of digital economy development on carbon emissions. The results are as follows: (1) The digital economy can help to reduce quantity of carbon emissions (qce) and improve the efficiency of carbon emissions (ece). (2) The digital economy shows a clear spatial spillover effect. The local digital economy development has a positive effect on neighbouring carbon emissions. (3) The decomposition of spatial effects reveals that the effects of the digital economy on qce and ece are more evident in the long-term development and difficult to be realized in the short term. (4) The effect of the digital economy on carbon emissions demonstrates significant regional heterogeneity. This study provides valuable insights policy-makers and serves as a reference to formulate relevant policies.