Cointegration among technological innovation, structural transformation, and development of China’s sports industry: An autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach

Type of the article: Research ArticleAbstractIn the context of China’s push for high-quality economic growth, analyzing the dynamic relationships between technological innovation and structural transformation in the sports industry is crucial. This study aims to empirically examine the long-term equilibrium and short-term dynamic relationships among technological innovation, industrial structure optimization, and the development of China’s sports industry. Using provincial panel data from 2008 to 2023, this study employs the autoregressive distributed lag–error correction model (ARDL-ECM) and Granger Causality tests to analyze these interactions. Results indicate that a 1% increase in technological innovation input leads to a 0.223% rise in sports industry output, while a unit increase in the growth rate of the sports service sector boosts gross output by 0.357%. However, innovation output shows a weaker impact (0.066%), and no long-run equilibrium exists between the industrial structure ratio and economic scale. These findings underscore the need for targeted innovation policies and structural reforms. This study provides empirical support for enhancing the quality and efficiency of China’s sports industry development.