Digital economy, industrial structure, and carbon emissions: An empirical study based on a provincial panel data set from China

This paper uses the mediation effect and a spatial panel model using panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2019 to study the relationship between the digital economy, industrial structure, and carbon emission. The research results show that the development of digital economy can effectively promote the reduction of carbon emissions. The development of the digital economy has a significant role in promoting the rationalization of the industrial structure. The digital economy not only directly suppresses carbon emissions, but also indirectly has a significant inhibitory effect on carbon emissions by promoting the rationalization and improvement of the industrial structure. The development of the digital economy suppresses the optimization of the industrial structure. The improvement of industrialization has hindered the industrialization process. It is necessary to strengthen research and development into digital technology and enhance the capacity of the digital economy to promote carbon emissions reduction.