Abstract
The digital economy, characterized by informatization and big data as key factors of production, and relying on digital technologies such as the internet and artificial intelligence, represents a new economic paradigm. Its potential to facilitate the transformation and upgrading of manufacturing industries and to enhance the technological complexity of exports necessitates empirical testing. This paper examines the association between factors related to the digital economy and the technological complexity of exports, drawing upon socioeconomic data from 31 provinces and regions in China in 2021, and employing a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis approach. The findings suggest that the digital economy can indeed foster an increase in the technological complexity of exports. Human capital, research and development (R&D) capabilities, digital infrastructure, financial capital, government scale, and market size all exert a positive influence on the technological complexity of exports. The impact configurations of the digital economy on the technological complexity of exports can be classified into two main types: government-market driven R&D innovation, and digital infrastructure-led multifactor influenced. Within the latter category, four subtypes are distinguished: digital infrastructure single-factor dominance, digital infrastructure-led with weak market, digital infrastructure-led with insufficient government strength, and digital infrastructure-led with weak R&D. In areas with a higher level of digital economy, its influence on the technological complexity of exports is notably more positive. The construction of digital infrastructure and R&D capabilities are core conditions affecting whether a region can achieve a high level of technological complexity in exports. Concurrently, attracting human capital, increasing government support, and expanding market size are also factors that cannot be overlooked.
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