IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i7p5927-d1110512.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Has the Development of the Digital Economy Reduced the Regional Energy Intensity—From the Perspective of Factor Market Distortion, Industrial Structure Upgrading and Technological Progress?

Author

Listed:
  • Guohua Zeng

    (School of Economics and Management, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou 341400, China)

  • Peiying Wu

    (School of Economics and Management, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou 341400, China)

  • Xinxin Yuan

    (School of Economics and Management, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou 341400, China)

Abstract

The digital economy has become the key driver of improving the quality and efficiency of the social economy and reshaping core competitiveness with the new technological revolution. This paper uses China’s provincial panel data from 2011 to 2019 and the entropy method to measure the digital economy development index of China’s provinces and cities and examines the impact of digital economy development on regional energy intensity using the fixed effect model. The results show that: (1) There is a significant difference in the development levels of the digital economy in the eastern and western regions of China. In addition, there is also a significant difference in the intensities of energy use between the northern and southern regions. (2) The development of the digital economy can significantly reduce China’s regional energy intensity. (3) There are three intermediary transmission paths for digital economy development to reduce the energy intensity through alleviating factor market distortion, promoting industrial structure upgrading and improving the technological innovation level, which are optimizing factor allocation, reducing factor distortion, adjusting and upgrading industrial structure and driving technological innovation applications. In general, all regions should further promote the development of digital industrialization and industrial digitization, enhance digital technology innovation and application, deepen the integrated development of digital economy and real economy and promote a new round of technological change and industrial upgrading on the basis of optimizing the allocation of important factors such as information data and artificial intelligence.

Suggested Citation

  • Guohua Zeng & Peiying Wu & Xinxin Yuan, 2023. "Has the Development of the Digital Economy Reduced the Regional Energy Intensity—From the Perspective of Factor Market Distortion, Industrial Structure Upgrading and Technological Progress?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-19, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:7:p:5927-:d:1110512
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/7/5927/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/7/5927/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Susanto Basu & John G. Fernald, 2008. "Information and communications technology as a general purpose technology: evidence from U.S. industry data," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, pages 1-15.
    2. Alam, Md. Mahmudul & Murad, Md. Wahid, 2020. "The impacts of economic growth, trade openness and technological progress on renewable energy use in organization for economic co-operation and development countries," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 382-390.
    3. Voigt, Sebastian & De Cian, Enrica & Schymura, Michael & Verdolini, Elena, 2014. "Energy intensity developments in 40 major economies: Structural change or technology improvement?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 47-62.
    4. Chai, Jian & Guo, Ju-E & Wang, Shou-Yang & Lai, Kin Keung, 2009. "Why does energy intensity fluctuate in China?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(12), pages 5717-5731, December.
    5. Lin, Boqiang & Wang, Miao, 2021. "What drives energy intensity fall in China? Evidence from a meta-frontier approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    6. Ceccobelli, M. & Gitto, S. & Mancuso, P., 2012. "ICT capital and labour productivity growth: A non-parametric analysis of 14 OECD countries," Telecommunications Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(4), pages 282-292.
    7. Ren, Siyu & Hao, Yu & Xu, Lu & Wu, Haitao & Ba, Ning, 2021. "Digitalization and energy: How does internet development affect China's energy consumption?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    8. Wen-Cheng Lu, 2018. "The impacts of information and communication technology, energy consumption, financial development, and economic growth on carbon dioxide emissions in 12 Asian countries," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 23(8), pages 1351-1365, December.
    9. Ikhlaas Gurrib & Firuz Kamalov, 2019. "The implementation of an adjusted relative strength index model in foreign currency and energy markets of emerging and developed economies," Macroeconomics and Finance in Emerging Market Economies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(2), pages 105-123, May.
    10. Vassileva, Iana & Wallin, Fredrik & Dahlquist, Erik, 2012. "Understanding energy consumption behavior for future demand response strategy development," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 46(1), pages 94-100.
    11. Lange, Steffen & Pohl, Johanna & Santarius, Tilman, 2020. "Digitalization and energy consumption. Does ICT reduce energy demand?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Fan, Min & Lu, Zhixi & Zhou, Yun & Wang, Jian, 2024. "Threshold and spillovers effects of fintech on China's energy dependence on fossil fuel," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ren, Siyu & Hao, Yu & Xu, Lu & Wu, Haitao & Ba, Ning, 2021. "Digitalization and energy: How does internet development affect China's energy consumption?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    2. To Trung Thanh & Le Thanh Ha & Hoang Phuong Dung & Tran Thi Lan Huong, 2023. "Impacts of digitalization on energy security: evidence from European countries," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(10), pages 11599-11644, October.
    3. Du, Juntao & Shen, Zhiyang & Song, Malin & Zhang, Linda, 2023. "Nexus between digital transformation and energy technology innovation: An empirical test of A-share listed enterprises," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    4. Le Thanh Ha & Pham Thi Ngoc Hanh & Nguyen Thi Thu Hang & Hoang Dang Khanh & Le Lan Phuong & Hoang Hop, 2024. "Moderating Role of Knowledge-Sharing on the Nexus of Digital Business and Natural Resources," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 15(1), pages 408-434, March.
    5. Wu, Haitao & Wang, Bingjie & Lu, Mingyue & Irfan, Muhammad & Miao, Xin & Luo, Shiyue & Hao, Yu, 2023. "The strategy to achieve zero‑carbon in agricultural sector: Does digitalization matter under the background of COP26 targets?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    6. Ziling Yu & Ruoxuan Li & Lili Ma, 2022. "Has the Digital Economy Affected the Status of a Country’s Energy Trade Network?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-14, November.
    7. Gao, Da & Li, Ge & Yu, Jiyu, 2022. "Does digitization improve green total factor energy efficiency? Evidence from Chinese 213 cities," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 247(C).
    8. Ng Thanh Mai & Le Thanh Ha & Tr?n Thi Mai Hoa & Nguyen Thi Thanh Huyen, 2022. "Effects of Digitalization on Natural Resource Use in European Countries: Does Economic Complexity Matter?," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 12(3), pages 77-92, May.
    9. Shuming Ren & Lianqing Li & Yueqi Han & Yu Hao & Haitao Wu, 2022. "The emerging driving force of inclusive green growth: Does digital economy agglomeration work?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(4), pages 1656-1678, May.
    10. Junhong Qu & Xiaoli Hao, 2022. "Digital Economy, Financial Development, and Energy Poverty Based on Mediating Effects and a Spatial Autocorrelation Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-24, July.
    11. Charfeddine, Lanouar & Umlai, Mohamed, 2023. "ICT sector, digitization and environmental sustainability: A systematic review of the literature from 2000 to 2022," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    12. Zhipeng Yu & Yi Liu & Taihua Yan & Ming Zhang, 2024. "Carbon emission efficiency in the age of digital economy: New insights on green technology progress and industrial structure distortion," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 33(5), pages 4039-4057, July.
    13. Rongwu Zhang & Wenqiang Fu & Yingxu Kuang, 2022. "Can Digital Economy Promote Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction in Heavily Polluting Enterprises? Empirical Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-21, August.
    14. Sun, Xianming & Xiao, Shiyi & Ren, Xiaohang & Xu, Bing, 2023. "Time-varying impact of information and communication technology on carbon emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    15. Usman, Ahmed & Ozturk, Ilhan & Ullah, Sana & Hassan, Ali, 2021. "Does ICT have symmetric or asymmetric effects on CO2 emissions? Evidence from selected Asian economies," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    16. Yanli Ji & Jie Xue & Zitian Fu, 2022. "Sustainable Development of Economic Growth, Energy-Intensive Industries and Energy Consumption: Empirical Evidence from China’s Provinces," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-20, June.
    17. Huang, He & Hong, Jingke & Wang, Xianzhu & Chang-Richards, Alice & Zhang, Jingxiao & Qiao, Bei, 2022. "A spatiotemporal analysis of the driving forces behind the energy interactions of the Chinese economy: Evidence from static and dynamic perspectives," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PB).
    18. Minglu Ma & Qiang Wang, 2022. "Assessment and Forecast of Green Total Factor Energy Efficiency in the Yellow River Basin—A Perspective Distinguishing the Upper, Middle and Lower Stream," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(5), pages 1-23, February.
    19. Lee, Chien-Chiang & He, Zhi-Wen & Xiao, Fu, 2022. "How does information and communication technology affect renewable energy technology innovation? International evidence," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 546-557.
    20. Dong, Kangyin & Liu, Yang & Wang, Jianda & Dong, Xiucheng, 2024. "Is the digital economy an effective tool for decreasing energy vulnerability? A global case," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 216(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:7:p:5927-:d:1110512. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.