Abstract
The vigorous development of modern information and communication technology (ICT) has driven the digital trade featured by the ICT technique and industry as the carrier. This study empirically tests the impact of ICT-based digital trade openness on green total factor productivity (GTFP) by selecting ICT as the representative digital trade data of 30 provinces in China over the timespan 2002–2018. We employ the slack-based model and global Malmquist–Luenberger (SBM-GML) estimation method to calculate the provincial GTFP and explore the heterogeneous impact of digital trade openness on GTFP through the scale effect, technology effect, and structure effect. In terms of empirical results, the panel fixed model and panel quantile estimation model both suggest the same findings. With the continuous expansion of the scale of digital trade, its scale effect has a significant inhibitory effect on GTFP, whereas the structure effect combined with human capital and the technology effect correlated with technological research and development (R&D) have a significant promoting effect on GTFP. The panel quantile regression model reveals that the interaction intensity increases gradually from a low quantile to high quantile. Further robustness tests also verify the consistency and stability of the results. Finally, the study puts forward corresponding practical suggestions for the construction of a high-quality open pattern of digital trade and the coordinated development of GTFP. The specific policy implications include the following: (1) Emphasize on the penetration and connection effect of the new generation of ICT, and strengthen the construction of enterprise informatization. (2) Expand digital trade openness and broaden the field of industrial cooperation. (3) Optimize the industrial structure of digital trade, and accelerate the development of core industries of digital trade. (4) Gradually promote the transformation of digital trade from relying on quantity and scale to product quality.
Highlights
In the context of economic globalization, China has been deeply integrated into the global value chain division system
(3) Considering the differences in economic development among regions, this study will further analyze the impact of digital trade in different Chinese areas on green total factor productivity (GTFP). (4) from the perspective of human capital and research and development (R&D) investment, this study utilizes the panel quantile model to test the impact of information and communication technology (ICT)-based digital trade on GTFP and puts forward targeted countermeasures and suggestions for the high-quality development of digital trade and promoting GTFP in combination with the regional characteristics of provinces in China
Excessive informatization will indirectly inhibit the growth of GTFP through the mechanism of resource waste and labor mismatch in the similar study conducted by Acemoglu and Restrepo (2019).With the rapid development of capital deepening among regional industries, the increase of ICT investment has led to the expansion of the scale of digital trade, and some industries even have excess investment (Ishida, 2015)
Summary
In the context of economic globalization, China has been deeply integrated into the global value chain division system. The improvement of green total factor productivity cannot be separated from the global division system with trade openness and digital trade as the main carrier. China is in a critical period of economic transformation. Technological progress is the premise of realizing sustainable economic growth, which is conducive to the transformation of China’s economy to a growth model supported by total factor productivity (Shao et al, 2021). Trade openness and digital trade are the main ways of technology transfer and knowledge spillover among countries, which is beneficial to the spread and diffusion of green technology in a country with the expansion of the scale of opening to the outside world. The improvement of GTFP and green economic development will be realized
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