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The effect of the digital economy on carbon emissions: an empirical study in China

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Abstract

Under the new development model, the digital economy has become a new engine to promote the green development of the economy and achieve the goal of “double carbon.” Based on panel data from 30 Chinese provinces and cities from 2011 to 2021, the impact of the digital economy on carbon emissions was empirically studied by constructing a panel model and a mediation model. The results show that firstly, the effect of the digital economy on carbon emissions is a non-linear inverted “U” shaped relationship, and this conclusion still holds after a series of robustness tests; secondly, the results of the benchmark regression show that economic agglomeration is an essential mechanism through which the digital economy affects carbon emissions and that the digital economy can indirectly suppress carbon emissions through economic agglomeration. Finally, the results of the heterogeneity analysis show that the impact of the digital economy on carbon emissions varies according to the level of regional development, and its effect on carbon emissions is mainly in the eastern region, while its impact on the central and western regions is weaker, indicating that the impact effect is primarily in developed regions. Therefore, the government should accelerate the construction of new digital infrastructure and implement the development strategy of the digital economy according to local conditions to promote a more significant carbon emission reduction effect of the digital economy.

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Source: China Statistical Yearbook

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Acknowledgements

We thank colleague Haslindar Ibrahim for firstly reading the manuscript and providing comments for improvements. We also thank the editors and reviewers for their helpful comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang, Malaysia

    Congqi Wang, Haslindar Ibrahim & Xiaoran Wang

  2. School of Economics, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, 100048, China

    Fengyu Qi

  3. School of Economics, Jinan University, Guangzhou, 510632, China

    Pengzhen Liu

Authors
  1. Congqi Wang
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  2. Fengyu Qi
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  3. Pengzhen Liu
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  4. Haslindar Ibrahim
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  5. Xiaoran Wang
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Contributions

This work was done collaboratively by all authors. Author Congqi Wang designed the study, performed the data collection and statistical analysis, wrote the protocol, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Author Fengyu Qi was responsible for the literature search and management, author Pengzhen Liu edited the references and formatting changes, author Haslindar Ibrahim suggested changes to the article and contributed as the corresponding author, and author Xiaoran Wang provided some changes to the format of the paper. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Haslindar Ibrahim.

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Wang, C., Qi, F., Liu, P. et al. The effect of the digital economy on carbon emissions: an empirical study in China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 75454–75468 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-27742-3

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