Digital governance and natural resource efficiency: evidence from China

Advances in digital governance significantly enhance natural resource efficiency (NRE), supporting regional sustainable development. This study adopts the implementation of digital governance construction (DGC) policies as a quasi-natural experiment by analysing longitudinal data from 281 Chinese cities (2010–2021) using robust methodologies, including the synthetic control method, difference-in-differences (DID) and propensity score matching DID. Findings reveal that DGC policies improve NRE through regional technological innovation and government support, moderated by urban ecological resilience. Regional heterogeneity is evident across digitisation, industrial structure, resource endowment, transparency and market access. Tailored strategies to regional characteristics, leveraging these dimensions can optimise DGC policies for sustainable urban development and ecological welfare. This study contributes to regional studies and environmental management literature by innovatively framing digital governance as a mechanism to improve NRE and proposing a dynamic heterogeneity analysis framework that advances the understanding of regional policy impacts in the digital era.