The environmental effects of digital economy: evidence from province-level empirical data in China

The environment is the foundation for human existence, and the digital economy has exacerbated the impact of human beings on the environment. Based on data of 31 provinces in China from 2011 to 2020, we used the spatial Durbin model to research the impact of the digital economy on the environment and its spatiotemporal characteristics. We found that the digital economy has a significant positive impact on the environmental effects of the region, and also has a positive spatial overflow. This conclusion still holds after robustness test and endogenous treatment (changing the space weight matrix, applying the instrumental variables, and two-stage least-squares method). Second, we found that environmental effects of the digital economy have a time lag, and the lag decreases gradually over time. Third, we used geographically and temporally weighted regression model and K-means clustering, which shows that digital economy has a strong effect on the environment in western region. The western region may need to increase digital infrastructure construction to achieve better environmental effects. In addition, China needs to upgrade its industrial structure as soon as possible, accelerate technological innovation, and advocate a green lifestyle, so as to realize the coordinated development of human beings and nature.