The Effect of Digital Economy on Urban Green Transformation—An Empirical Study Based on the Yangtze River Delta City Cluster in China

Abstract

Under the new development pattern, promoting urban green transformation efficiently addresses resource and environmental restrictions and is the foundation of high-quality development. However, the development of green transformation in Chinese cities faces constraints in three dimensions, production, life, and ecology, and it is not clear whether the digital economy, as a key driver of green development, can empower urban green transformation. Therefore, this paper measures the level of urban green transformation from the three dimensions of production, life, and ecological space and empirically tests the impact of the digital economy on urban green transformation from 2011 to 2020 by using panel data from 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. The results indicate: (1) The development of the green transformation level in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration demonstrates a constant upward trend, but the absolute difference fluctuates and declines; (2) the development of the digital economy has a positive impact on urban green transformation, as well as changes in urban production, living, and ecological space; (3) the digital economy helps the green transformation of cities by supporting the growth of an advanced and rationalized industrial structure. Nevertheless, the indirect influence of an advanced and rational industrial structure on urban green transformation is quite different.