Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Higher Education on Digital Economy and Its Mechanism

Based on the panel data of 31 provinces and cities in China from 2016 to 2023, Schumpeter's innovation theory and the theory of new structural economics are utilized to systematically explore the relationship between higher education and the development of the digital economy and its potential role mechanism. The results of the empirical study show that (1) higher education has a positive driving effect on the development of digital economy and passes the robustness test. (2) The results of the mechanism test show that higher education promotes the development of regional digital economy through promoting industrial structure upgrading. The results of this paper not only provide a solid theoretical basis and empirical support for the role of higher education in the development of digital economy, but also provide a scientific reference for the formulation of related policies.