The Impact of the Digital Economy on the Green Innovation Efficiency of the Manufacturing Industry

Abstract

The rapid expansion of the digital economy offers a new impetus for advancing green innovation efficiency within the manufacturing sector. Grounded in innovation ecosystem theory, this study employs panel data from 30 Chinese provinces (municipalities) spanning 2012 to 2022 to empirically examine the influence of the digital economy on the green innovation efficiency of manufacturing and its spatial spillover effects. The findings reveal that: (1) The digital economy substantially enhances green innovation efficiency in China’s manufacturing industry, a conclusion that holds across multiple robustness checks, including substitution of explanatory and explained variables. This effect is more pronounced in provinces with higher economic development, advanced digital economy levels, and those not reliant on natural resources. (2) The digital economy fosters green innovation efficiency through three pathways: optimizing resource allocation efficiency, promoting technological progress, and upgrading industrial structure. Among these, industrial structure upgrading exhibits the strongest transmission effect, while resource allocation efficiency and technological progress show relatively smaller impacts. (3) Both the digital economy and manufacturing green innovation efficiency display notable spatial agglomeration traits and generate spatial spillover effects on neighboring regions, specifically manifesting as a "siphon effect." Industrial agglomeration further amplifies this siphon effect of the digital economy.