A Win–Win Opportunity: The Industrial Pollution Reduction Effect of Digital Economy Development—A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on the “Broadband China” Strategy

Abstract

The digital economy and industrial sustainable development are important issues at this stage. The economic welfare effects of digital economy development have been confirmed by the existing literature, while the impact of digital economy development on industrial pollution emissions remains to be studied. This paper takes the implementation of the “Broadband China” strategy as a quasi-natural experiment, and uses a time-varying difference in difference model (Time-Varying DID) to identify the “industrial pollution reduction effect” of digital economic development. The results show that, (1) digital economy development can significantly reduce industrial SO2 emission intensity, and this “industrial pollution reduction effect” will be heterogeneous according to the changes in geographical location characteristics, urban scale characteristics, and environmental regulation intensity characteristics; (2) digital economy development can reduce industrial pollution emissions without inhibiting industrial output, and this “industrial pollution reduction effect” is mainly caused by the improvement of energy efficiency and the cleaner transformation of industrial production mode brought by biased technological progress, rather than by the traditional neutral technological progress and end-of-pipe treatment; and (3) that the improvement of industrial basic capacity can significantly enhance the “industrial pollution reduction effect” of digital economy development. In the process of promoting the development of the digital economy, China should consider urban characteristics and improve industrial basic capacity.