Research on the Impact of the Digital Economy on Regional Economic Disparities
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.54097/7mk4gk20Keywords:
Digital economy, Regional economic disparities, Regional innovation capacity.Abstract
The digital economy is a new engine for China's economic growth and has played a crucial role in addressing the principal contradiction of unbalanced and inadequate development. It is of great significance to conduct an in - depth exploration of the impact of the digital economy on regional economic disparities for resolving the principal contradiction in China. Based on the balanced panel data of 284 prefecture - level and above cities in China from 2011 to 2021, this paper explores the impact of the digital economy on regional economic disparities through the two - way fixed effects model. The research findings indicate that during the sample period, the digital economy has exacerbated the unbalanced development of the regional economy, and this conclusion still holds after a series of robustness and endogeneity tests. The mechanism analysis reveals that the regional innovation capacity plays a decisive role in the impact of the digital economy on regional economic disparities. The higher the regional innovation capacity is, the greater the impact of the digital economy on regional economic disparities will be, while the agglomeration of production factors will inhibit this expanding impact. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the digital economy is conducive to the coordinated development of the eastern and central regions, and the impact of the digital economy on regional economic disparities is characterized by policy phasing and dynamics. The research conclusions of this paper have important implications for promoting the coordinated development of China's regional economy in the digital economy era.
Downloads
References
[1] Li Xiaoyang, Huang Yixiang. Spatial linkage between labor mobility and regional economic growth in China [J]. Population Science of China, 2014, (01): 55-65 + 127.
[2] Wang Bida, Su Jing. Can the free flow of elements achieve regional coordinated development —— Based on the theoretical hypothesis and empirical test of "coordinated agglomeration" [J]. Finance and Trade Economy, 2020,41 (04): 129-143.
[3] Li Hongtao, Wang Lili. Study on the influence of urban agglomeration development planning on factor flow and efficient agglomeration [J]. Economist, 2020, (12): 52-61.
[4] Liu Qi, Huang Tianhua. Study on the effect of fiscal policy on the coordinated development of regional economy [J]. Modern Management Science, 2014, (02): 63-65.
[5] Yuan Hang, Xia Jiechang. The gap between trade facilitation and China's regional economic development —— a quasi-natural experiment based on China-Europe freight trains [J]. Economic Science, 2023, (03): 65-81.
[6] Ding Zhifan. Research on the mechanism of digital economy driving high-quality economic Development: a theoretical analysis framework [J]. Discussion on modern Economy, 2020, (01): 85-92.
[7] Zhao Tao, Zhang Zhi, Liang Shangkun. Digital economy, entrepreneurial activity and high-quality development —— Empirical evidence from Chinese cities [J]. Manage World, 2020,36 (10): 65-76.
[8] Li Cheng, Xie Chao. Study and implement General Secretary Xi Jinping's important discourse on digital economy [J]. Shanghai Economic Research, 2023, (08): 21-31.
[9] Jing Wenjun, Sun Baowen. Digital economy promotes high-quality economic development: a theoretical analysis framework [J]. The Economist, 2019, (02): 66-73.
[10] Liu Jun, Yang Yuan Jun, Zhang Sanfeng. Research on the measurement and drivers of Digital Economy in China [J]. Shanghai Economic Research, 2020, (06): 81-96.
[11] Pan Weihua, He Zhengchu, Pan Hongyu. Spatio-temporal evolution and distribution dynamics of digital economy development in China [J]. Soft Science of China, 2021, (10): 137-147.
[12] Jiang Changliu, Jiang Zhentao. Can digital inclusive finance promote high-quality regional economic development?—— Based on the empirical evidence from 258 cities [J]. Journal of Hunan University of Science and Technology (Social Science Edition), 2020,23 (03): 75-84.
[13] Hong Yinxing. Realize the reform of market-oriented allocation of factors [J]. Economist, 2020, (02): 5-14.
[14] Li Xiaoyang, Huang Yixiang. Spatial linkage between labor mobility and regional economic growth in China [J]. Population Science of China, 2014, (01): 55-65 + 127.
[15] Sun Junhua, Wan Yang. Higher education, regional innovation capacity, and digital economy development [J]. University Education Management, 2024,18 (02): 1-12 + 52.
[16] Shen Kunrong, Lin Jianwei, Fu Yuanhai. Network infrastructure construction, information availability and enterprise innovation boundary [J]. Industrial Economy of China, 2023, (01): 57-75.
[17] Zhao Binyuan. The influence of digital economy on regional innovation performance and its spatial spillover effect [J]. Scientific and technological Progress and Countermeasures, 2021,38 (14): 37-44.
[18] Hong construction. Regional gap, polarization, and mobility in China [J]. Economic Research, 2010,45 (12): 82-96.
[19] Huang Qunhui, Yu Yingze, Zhang Songlin. Internet development and manufacturing productivity improvement: internal mechanisms and Chinese experience [J]. Industrial Economy in China, 2019, (08): 5-23.
[20] Li Hongtao, Wang Lili. Study on the influence of urban agglomeration development planning on factor flow and efficient agglomeration [J]. Economist, 2020, (12): 52-61.
[21] Wang Bida, Su Jing. Can the free flow of elements achieve regional coordinated development —— Based on the theoretical hypothesis and empirical test of "coordinated agglomeration" [J]. Finance and Trade Economy, 2020,41 (04): 129-143.
[22] Zhou Calai, Li Gang. Regional economic development gap: new economic geography, factor flow and economic policy [J]. Economic Theory and Economic Management, 2008, (09): 29-34.
[23] Chen Wen, Wu Ying. The development of the digital economy, the digital divide and the income gap between urban and rural residents [J]. Southern Economy, 2021, (11): 1-17.
[24] Wang Juanjuan. "Two modernization" development and regional comparison of digital economy in China [J]. China's circulation economy, 2023,37 (01): 12-23.
[25] Liu Chuanming, Yin Xiu, Wang Linshan. Regional differences and distribution dynamic evolution of China's digital economy development [J]. China Science and Technology Forum, 2020, (03): 97-109.
[26] Li Zheng, Yang Siying. Can the national high-tech zones improve the level of urban innovation?[J]. Southern Economy, 2019, (12): 49-67.
[27] Lei Xin, Chen Jiyong, Qin Si. Openness, innovation and income inequality —— based on empirical research in China [J]. Economic Management, 2014,36 (05): 1-12.
[28] Luo Jin, Sun Yahui, Li Yue. The review of the economic differentiation between the north and south of China —— the dual perspective of economic split movement and the decomposition of growth contribution [J]. Southern Economy, 2024, (05): 51-74.
[29] Dong Xuebing, Chi Ruonan. So-temporal evolution characteristics of regional economic differences and convergence in China [J]. Economic Geography, 2020,40 (10): 11-21.
[30] Bukht R., Heeks R. Defining,conceptualising and measuring the digital economy[J]. SSRN Electronic Journal, 2017
[31] Tapscott Don. The digital economy: Promise and peril in the age of networked intelligence.[J]. Educom Review, 1996
[32] Bruce E., Hansen. Threshold effects in non-dynamic panels: Estimation, testing, and inference[J]. Journal of Econometrics, 1999
[33] Williamson, J.G. Regional Inequality and the Process of National Development: a Description of the Patterns[J]. Economic Development and Cultural Change, 1965, 13(4): 3—45.
[34] Wei, Y.D. Regional Inequality in China[J]. Progress in Human Geography, 1999, 23(1): 49—59.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
