Towards a Green Digital City: Digital Economy, Digital Innovation, and Urban Haze Pollution

This study employs panel data from 223 prefecture-level cities in China spanning 2011 to 2020, using fixed effects models, mediation effect models, and dynamic spatial Durbin models to investigate the impact of digital economy (DIGE) growth on urban haze pollution (UHPO). Our findings indicate that the expansion of the DIGE significantly reduces UHPO, thereby underscoring its positive influence on environmental management and revealing a negative correlation with urban environmental degradation. Analysis of mechanisms shows that DIGE alleviates UHPO through enhancements in digital innovation (DIGI) and upgrades in industrial structures. This provides strong evidence of the pathways through which DIGE contributes to environmental improvement and influences policy development and implementation. Additionally, heterogeneity analysis highlights that digital infrastructure's impact on reducing UHPO is more pronounced in cities with higher levels of human capital, financial development, and information infrastructure. This detailed understanding assists in pinpointing the differential effects of DIGE across various urban settings and lays the groundwork for tailored policy interventions. Moreover, the study reveals that the spatial spillover effects (SSEs) of DIGE on UHPO delineate an inverted U-shaped pattern, peaking in absolute value between 1, 000 and 1, 500 kilometers.