Interaction between Digital Economy and Environmental Pollution: New Evidence from a Spatial Perspective.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Economics
• Urban Studies
• Digital Economy

Background:

• The post-epidemic era necessitates economic recovery strategies focusing on the digital and green economies.
• Understanding the interplay between digital economic growth and environmental pollution is crucial for sustainable development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the spatio-temporal relationship and interaction spillover effects between the digital economy and environmental pollution in Chinese cities.
• To investigate the mechanisms through which the digital economy influences environmental pollution and vice versa.

Main Methods:

• Utilized simultaneous spatial equations and the generalized 3-stage least square (GS3SLS) method.
• Analyzed data from 287 prefecture-level cities in China between 2008 and 2018.
• Examined spatial interaction spillover effects.

Main Results:

• Observed a complex, reverse spatio-temporal evolution between the digital economy and environmental pollution.
• Found that local digital economy and pollution inhibit each other, with significant spatial spillover effects.
• Demonstrated that surrounding digital economies suppress local pollution, while surrounding pollution crowds out the local digital economy.

Conclusions:

• The digital economy mitigates environmental pollution via green and innovative development effects.
• Environmental pollution negatively impacts the digital economy through talent outflow and policy tightening.
• Findings support the coupled and coordinated development of digital and green economies for sustainable transformation.