The Economic Growth Effect of Digitization——Evidence from the Belt and Road Initiative
Driving inclusive growth,creating job opportunities and optimizing service delivery are key results of digital transformation.China,assumes a pioneering role by catalyzing innovation and facilitating the convergence of digital and physi-cal economies within the nations participating the Belt and Road Initiative.Utilizing World Bank data,this study reveals that digitization has the potential to propel economic growth.Mechanism analysis indicates three key facets.Firstly,digitization can enhance total factor productivity by incentivizing enterprise innova-tion and reducing production costs.Secondly,digitization can enhance labor productivity and increase the overall labor demand in Belt and Road Intiative.However,its primary impact is on the marginal productivity of high-skilled workers,stimulating em-ployment growth among the highly educated.Thirdly,digitization can facilitate export trade,empowering firms with an online presence and access to tools like email to benefit from improved trade facilitation.Furthermore,the study highlights the efficacy of Chinese communication technology aid in fostering information technology spillovers and knowledge dissemination,thereby fostering digital development along the Belt and Road Intiative and generating significant economic growth.To expedite the establishment of a digital economic community and realize high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative,this paper proposes three recommendations.Firstly,strengthening digital infrastructure construction to expedite the growth of digital exports.Secondly,increasing investment in human capital to enhance digital literacy across the populace,fos-tering expanded collaboration in education and human resource development.Lastly,encouraging leading Chinese communica-tion technology enterprises to engage in foreign aid initiatives under government guidance,thereby assisting Belt and Road In-tiative in improving their digital public service levels.
DigitizationEconomic GrowthThe Belt and Road InitiativeTechnology Spillover
万方数据
