Exploring the Impact of the Digital Economy on China's Export Implied Carbon Intensity: A Provincial Panel Data Analysis

Abstract

Exploiting the positive effect of digital economy on reducing the implied carbon intensity of exports is an important path to promote the green and low-carbon transformation of China's export trade. In view of this, using the Chinese provincial panel data from 2008 to 2020 to scrutinize the consequential impact and intricate mechanisms at play between these variables.  Employing a robust methodology, including fixed-effects models, mediating-effects models, and threshold models, the analysis delves into the multi-faceted impact of the digital economy on export implied carbon intensity. It is found that (1) The enhancement of the digital economy can significantly reduce the implied carbon intensity of exports. (2) The digital economy further diminishes the implied carbon intensity of exports through the mediating influences of industrial structure and technological progress. (3) The relationship between the digital economy, industrial structure, and technological progress exhibits a noteworthy non-linear dynamic concerning export implied carbon intensity.