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An Empirical Analysis of How the Digital Economy Drives Industrial Structure Upgrading

Author(s)

Feiyang Yuan

Affiliation(s)

School of International Education, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China

Abstract

Digital technology has become pervasive in daily life, profoundly reshaping lifestyles and emerging as a pivotal force in transforming production modes and industrial structures. This paper employs a panel data model to examine the role of the digital economy in facilitating industrial structure upgrading, analysing its regional heterogeneity. The research indicates pronounced regional disparities in the impact of the digital economy on facilitating industrial structural upgrading. The effect is markedly significant in eastern regions, whereas it is statistically insignificant in central and western regions. Further analysis reveals that regional economic development level acts as a critical threshold variable—a conclusion that withstands a series of robustness tests, including endogeneity mitigation via 2SLS estimation, alternative variable measures, and outlier treatment. Based on these empirical findings, this paper proposes corresponding recommendations concerning digital infrastructure development, locally tailored digital economy strategies, and the integration of digital and traditional industries.

Keywords

Industrial Structure Upgrading; Digital Economy; Fixed Effects Model

References

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