Research On The Carbon Emission Reduction Effects Of Digital Economy From The Perspective Of Capital Allocation

The digital economy has gradually become a new growth driver for economic development,while "carbon peaking and carbon neutrality" is related to the overall layout of ecological civilization,and the carbon emission reduction effect of digital economy development needs to be explored in depth.In addition,influenced by local protection,urbanization,and the servitization of manufacturing,China is also facing a serious resource misallocation between industries,which will cause a loss of productivity and further aggravate environmental pollution,and it is worth considering how to optimize resource misallocation and thus promote low-carbon transformation.As a key element and core driving force of the digital economy,data elements,and digital technology can be combined with traditional factors of production to optimize the allocation structure and utilization of the original factors,thereby achieving an effective allocation of resources.Therefore,this paper uses the panel data of 30 Chinese provinces from 2009 to 2020 and constructs a digital economy development index system at the provincial level in China from two dimensions: "digital infrastructure" and "digital industry development".The system is based on the entropy weighting method,which provides a differential analysis and cross-sectional comparison of the current situation of China’s digital economy development.Based on the perspective of capital allocation,the relationship between digital economy development and carbon emission reduction and the transmission mechanism of capital allocation between industries,urban and rural,and within the non-agricultural sector were empirically examined using fixed effects model,quantile regression,and mediation effect model to further explore the differences in carbon emission reduction effects from the perspective of heterogeneity.The following conclusions are drawn from the in-depth study:(i)Digital economy development has a carbon emission reduction effect and the effect is stronger in high-carbon provinces,which still holds even after a series of robustness tests.(ii)The carbon reduction effect of the digital economy is mainly indirectly exerted through the optimization of capital allocation between industries and within the non-agricultural sectors,while the capital allocation between urban and rural areas did not exist as an intermediary effect.(iii)Both "digital infrastructure" and "digital industry development" can exert carbon emission reduction effects through optimizing capital allocation between industries and within the non-agricultural sectors.However,"digital infrastructure" has a more significant effect on carbon reduction.(iv)The carbon reduction effect of digital economy development varies across government-protected regions.In regions with a strong degree of local protection,the effect of inter-industry capital allocation is prominent.While in regions with a weak degree of local protection,it can play a more important role in carbon emission reduction by optimizing the allocation of capital within the non-agricultural sector.(v)The results of the heterogeneity analysis show that the digital economy development is more likely to contribute to carbon emission reduction in central and eastern regions with high environmental regulations.The above findings suggest that the digital economy development and the "dual carbon" strategy are consistent in terms of policy objectives.Accordingly,policy recommendations are proposed in terms of grasping the opportunities for carbon emission reduction in the digital economy,reshaping the new order of inter-industry factor interaction,and promoting regional digital cooperation.The findings will help China to make a better overall plan for the digital economy development,correct distortions in the allocation of capital factors,and promote urban-rural integration,to provide a scientific basis for the orderly promotion of the "dual carbon" strategy.