Enhancing natural resource efficiency through digital government: Evidence from the utilization of energy, water, and land resources

Abstract

With the support of digital technology, the digitization of government governance has become a key strategy worldwide. One of the aims of digital transformation of government governance is to fully utilize data resources to enhance the utilization and management efficiency of natural resources. Utilizing panel data from 262 China's cities spanning from 2009 to 2019, this paper employs a Difference-in-differences (DID) model to investigate the impact of digital government on natural resource efficiency. The empirical results reveal that the establishment of digital government improves natural resource efficiency. This beneficial impact is transmitted through three channels: government efficiency, regional digital infrastructure, and regional innovation and green innovation levels. Additionally, the facilitation of the digital government on natural resource efficiency exhibits significant regional heterogeneity, with a more pronounced positive effect in the eastern region and regenerative resource-based cities. Finally, the study investigates the effectiveness of digital government on the efficiency of different types of natural resources and the spatial spillover effect of its implementation. Our results provide empirical evidence for the relationship between the digital government and natural resource efficiency, offering a practical reference for the digital transformation of government governance in developing countries.