The Impact of Data Element Marketization on Green Total Factor Energy Efficiency: Empirical Evidence from China

Given the escalating severity of climate change and environmental degradation, the transition to green and low-carbon energy has become a strategic priority for China’s economic development. Green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE), which captures energy utilization efficiency while accounting for environmental constraints and desirable outputs, has emerged as a key indicator for evaluating green energy transition performance. Data element marketization (DEM), as a vital institutional innovation, provides new impetus for accelerating the transition to green and low-carbon energy. This study leveraged the establishment of China’s data trading platforms as a quasi-natural experiment to systematically assess the effects, mechanisms, and spatial heterogeneity of DEM on urban GTFEE. The findings reveal that DEM has a statistically significant positive impact on urban GTFEE in the short term, while demonstrating a gradual diminishing marginal effect over the long term. Furthermore, this study uncovered heterogeneous effects based on factors such as city type, urban energy intensity, and new-energy pilot, as well as urban government governance capacity. Mechanism analysis demonstrated that DEM enhances urban GTFEE by accelerating the generation of data elements and fostering their deep integration with artificial intelligence (AI). Spatial analysis indicated that, while DEM significantly improves GTFEE in local cities, it generates negative spillover effects on neighboring cities due to the persistence of the digital divide.