Digital Economy, Technological Innovation and High-Quality Economic Development: Based on Spatial Effect and Mediation Effect

TLDR

Technological innovation and high‑quality economic development are essential for sustainable growth, and the digital economy is emerging as a key driver of these outcomes in China. The study aims to examine how the digital economy influences high‑quality economic development in China and to clarify the underlying mechanisms. Using a mediating‑effects framework and a spatial Durbin model, the authors measured the impact, mechanism, and regional heterogeneity of the digital economy on high‑quality development across 30 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2019. The analysis revealed that the digital economy, though not yet at a high level, significantly promotes high‑quality development through spatial spillovers, with technological innovation as a key transmission channel, yet its influence weakens across eastern, central, and western regions, highlighting the need for targeted digitalization strategies to reduce regional disparities.

Abstract

Technological innovation and high-quality economic development are inevitable requirements of sustainable development, and the digital economy has gradually become a new engine to enhance technological innovation and the high-quality development of China’s economy. Deeply discussing the effect of digital economy on high-quality economic development and clarifying the mechanism behind it can effectively grant the boosting power of digital economy to China’s high-quality development, which is of great practical significance to China’s sustainable economic development. In this study, the mechanism, effect, and regional heterogeneity of the impact of the digital economy on the level of high-quality economic development in 30 Chinese provinces from 2011–2019 were measured and empirically tested using a mediating effects model and a spatial Durbin model, among others. The results showed that the overall level of digital economy and high-quality development is not high, and there were both high agglomeration and low agglomeration, with obvious spatial path dependence and spatial lock-in. Digital economy could promote the high-quality development level of the economy, and the spatial spillover effect was remarkable. In addition, the function of digital economy in promoting high-quality economic development in the eastern, central, and western regions was gradually weakened. Besides, the technological innovation was an important transmission path of digital economy to high-quality economic development. Based on these findings, it is proposed that decision-makers should strengthen digitalization efforts so that the digital economy can become a powerful tool to narrow the digital divide. Further, the dynamic and differentiated digital economy development strategy should be implemented to reduce regional development imbalances in an effective manner.