The Impact of Digital Economy on the Upgrading of Industrial Structure: Based on the Perspective of Consumption Structure and Technological Innovation

With the continuous changes in the structure of consumer demand and the rapid development of scientific and technological innovation, the digital economy is increasingly becoming an important driving force to promote industrial upgrading. This article explores the impact of it on industrial upgrading and the interaction of mechanism factors based on panel data from 31 provinces from 2014 to 2021. The empirical results indicate that: (1) The progression of the digital economy has obviously promoted the upgrading of China's industrial structure; (2) The digital economy provides consumers with more diversified and personalized consumption choices, and promotes the transformation of traditional industries to high value-added and high-quality directions; (3) The digital economy has promoted the continuous breakthrough and use of technology, changing the industrial production and business model, and promotes the development of the industry; (4) There is a two-way feedback between consumption upgrading and technological innovation, which jointly promote industrial upgrading. After robustness testing, the above conclusion is still valid. Finally, this article summarizes the positive influence of the digital economy on industrial upgrading and proposes policy recommendations from the supply and demand.