Research on the Impact of Digital Economy on the Level of Collaborative Governance of Pollution Reduction and Carbon Abatement: Based on the Mediating Effect of Industrial Structure Upgrading

Boyang Guo

doi:10.54691/dy6rw465

Authors

Boyang Guo

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54691/dy6rw465

Keywords:

Digital Economy; Pollution Reduction and Carbon Mitigation; Industrial Structure Upgrading; Mediating Effect.

Abstract

In the coordinated process of advancing the construction of "Digital China, the digital economy is increasingly becoming an important force supporting high-quality development. Simultaneously, it provides an innovative approach to addressing the synergistic issues between traditional pollution control and carbon emission reduction. This study, based on panel data from 266 Chinese cities from 2014 to 2023, examines how the development of the digital economy affects the synergistic governance of pollution control and carbon emission reduction. To explore its potential mechanisms, this study incorporates industrial structure upgrading as a mediating factor in the analysis. This paper employs a two-way fixed effects model combined with a mediating effect framework. The study concludes that the development of the digital economy significantly improves the synergistic governance of pollution control and carbon emission reduction. Mechanism analysis shows that industrial structure upgrading plays a significant mediating role in this relationship. Further heterogeneity analysis reveals that the positive impact of the digital economy is more significant in resource-based cities and cities with relatively low levels of economic development. This study provides empirical evidence at city level, illustrating how the digital economy promotes coordinated pollution and carbon control. Furthermore, this study provides policy implications for promoting the development of the digital economy and optimizing industrial structure.

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