The digital economy is increasingly recognized as a pivotal force in driving the process of the Chinese path to modernization. This paper leverages panel data spanning 272 cities from 2011 to 2020 to construct distinct indicators for both the digital economy and the Chinese path to modernization,providing a basis for empirical analysis of their interrelationship. The findings underscore that the digital economy not only significantly fosters the Chinese path to modernization but also exhibits a nonlinear influence on it. This relationship remains robust even after adjusting for potential biases arising from extreme values and endogeneity concerns. The study further reveals regional disparities,indicating that the impact of the digital economy on modernization varies across different cities and their developmental stages. Moreover,the digital economy's influence is found to have a spatial spillover effect,meaning that advancements in one city can catalyze modernization efforts in neighboring areas. Mechanistic insights suggest that the digital economy enhances the Chinese path to modernization chiefly through two pathways:by facilitating industrial upgrading and by boosting levels of innovation and marketization.
关键词
数字经济/中国式现代化/产业结构/创新水平/市场化水平
Key words
Digital Economy/Chinese path to modernization/Industrial Structure/Levels of Innovation/Marketization
维普
万方数据