Sci-Tech finance efficiency promotes the construction of a modernized industrial system evidence from double machine learning

Promoting a virtuous cycle among science, technology, finance, and industry is essential for advancing a modernized industrial system. Using provincial panel data from China spanning 2010-2023, this study applies a Double Machine Learning framework to investigate the causal impact of Sci-Tech finance efficiency (STFE) on the construction of a modernized industrial system(CMIS) and to uncover its internal mechanisms. The empirical results demonstrate that higher STFE significantly promotes industrial modernization by enhancing structural upgrading and innovation capacity. Mechanism analysis further reveals that STFE accelerates the transformation of scientific and technological achievements, strengthens the integration between digital technologies and the real economy, and optimizes the allocation of key production factors-including capital, talent, and technology. These mechanisms collectively foster the coordinated upgrading of industrial systems. Moreover, the heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive impact of STFE is more pronounced in regions with stronger economic foundations, higher degrees of marketization, and lower fiscal constraints, highlighting regional disparities in policy effectiveness. Overall, this study extends the theoretical understanding of the finance-technology-industry nexus under the DML framework and provides actionable insights for promoting regional coordination and differentiated policy design in the process of industrial modernization.