Digital Economy, Innovation Environment and Regional Innovation Efficiency

Abstract

In recent years, China has vigorously implemented the innovation-driven development strategy, which has effectively promoted China’s economy toward high-quality development. However, despite significant progress in scientific research investment and innovation capabilities, making China one of the world’s fastest innovating countries, innovation efficiency remains less than satisfactory. Meanwhile, with the global industrial upgrading and technological revolution, more countries have recognized the importance of the digital economy. The digitization of traditional industries has greatly enhanced resource utilization, improved resource allocation methods, and positively impacted regional innovation efficiency. Therefore, at this critical juncture, the rise of the digital economy has become a “new engine” driving China’s economy toward innovative development. In-depth research on how the digital economy affects regional innovation efficiency not only helps understand the relationship between them, but also deepens the understanding of their segmented characteristics, while providing precise policy implications for enhancing regional innovation efficiency.

Based on China’s provincial panel data from 2014 to 2020, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of the digital economy on regional innovation efficiency, further discusses the heterogeneity, nonlinearity and spatial spillover characteristics of this impact, and examines the moderating effects of data assets and human capital based on innovative measurements of data asset value. The results show that: China’s digital economy level and regional innovation efficiency both demonstrate increasing trends, with evident gradient distribution patterns showing higher levels in eastern regions than western regions; the development of the digital economy significantly improves China’s regional innovation efficiency, with more pronounced effects in eastern regions, threshold effects of increasing marginal impact, and negative spatial spillover effects, meaning that a province with a high digital economy level may reduce the regional innovation efficiency of neighboring provinces; the innovation environment plays a positive moderating role between the digital economy and regional innovation efficiency, that is, in regions with higher data asset values and human capital levels, the digital economy has more significant effects on enhancing regional innovation efficiency.

From the research findings, the digital economy plays an important role in the improving regional innovation efficiency. The government should actively promote the integration of the digital economy with traditional industries, accelerate institutional innovation, address integration challenges, implement prudent and inclusive regulation for emerging business forms and models in the digital economy. Different regions should formulate differentiated digital economy development strategies based on their specific conditions. Eastern regions with better digital economy foundation should focus on breakthroughs in key technologies in core areas, while central and western regions should further strengthen digital economy infrastructure. All regions should pay close attention to the potential negative spillover effects of digital economy development on neighboring regions’ innovation efficiency, actively build platforms for regional innovation exchange and cooperation, and avoid uncoordinated development. Finally, the moderating effect of the innovation environment should be leveraged by focusing on developing data assets and enhancing human capital to develop the digital economy, thereby improving regional innovation efficiency.