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  • Jul. 15, 2025

Arid Land Geography ›› 2025, Vol. 48 ›› Issue (6): 1127-1139.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2024.406

• Regional Development • Previous Articles    

Digital economy empowers green development welfare: Empirical evidence based on resource-based cities in the Yellow River Basin

XIE Yu(), XUE Xuandeng()   

  1. Business Academy of Henan University of Science and Technology, Luoyang 471000, Henan, China
  • Received:2024-07-04 Revised:2024-08-10 Online:2025-06-25 Published:2025-06-18
  • Contact: XUE Xuandeng E-mail:XieLYu0501@163.com;xue69519@163.com

Abstract:

The primary goal of green development is to improve the overall welfare associated with sustainable practices. The digital economy has a dual effect on regional green development. This study systematically analyzes the theoretical mechanisms through which the digital economy influences green development welfare. An empirical assessment was conducted using panel data from 36 resource cities in the Yellow River Basin for the years 2013 to 2022, employing both the double-fixed effect model and spatial Durbin model. The findings indicate that: (1) Regarding spatial and temporal evolution, the overall level of green development welfare is relatively low, showing a gradual upward trend over time, with a spatial distribution pattern characterized by medium and low levels, supplemented by a few high-level points. (2) The digital economy significantly enhances the level of regional green development welfare among resource cities in the Yellow River Basin, and this effect remains robust under testing. (3) Regarding heterogeneous effects, the digital economy plays a particularly important role in promoting welfare in growing resource cities. (4) Analysis of spatial spillover reveals that the digital economy has a positive spatial spillover effect on green development welfare, with both direct and total effects being significantly positive, although the indirect effect is significantly negative. These results can assist the region in synergizing the digital economy with green development welfare, thereby promoting a form of Chinese-style modernization that fosters harmonious coexistence between human beings and nature.

Key words: digital economy, green development welfare, Yellow River Basin, resource-based cities