Research on the mechanism and countermeasures of digital economy development promoting carbon emission reduction in jiangxi province

Abstract

The digital economy is an important driving force for China’s economic transformation and upgrading, while ‘carbon peak and carbon neutrality’ is the target vision to be achieved in China. As an important support area for the rise of central China, it is an urgent question to investigate whether the development of the digital economy in Jiangxi Province can contribute to the realization of carbon emission reduction. Based on the panel data of 11 urban areas in Jiangxi Province from 2011 to 2020, the article empirically investigates the impact of the digital economy on regional carbon emissions and its mechanism of action by using the two-way fixed-effect model, mediated-effect model, and panel threshold-effect model. The study shows that, firstly, the digital economy has a significant carbon emission reduction effect, and the conclusion still holds after a series of endogeneity and robustness tests. Second, the carbon emission reduction effect of the digital economy differs among different regions, and the carbon emission reduction effect of the digital economy is more obvious in northern Ganzhou and regions with high carbon emission levels. Again, the intermediary effect suggests that the digital economy can promote carbon emission reduction by strengthening the control of foreign investment introduction. Finally, the panel threshold effect analysis with urbanization as the threshold variable shows that there is a non-linear correlation between the effects of the digital economy on carbon emissions. The findings of this paper provide a feasible path and policy reference for Jiangxi Province’s digital economy to contribute to carbon emission reduction goals.