This paper introduces a theoretical model designed to examine how the presence of manufacturing enterprises on e-commerce platforms impacts their innovation. This paper empirically examines the influence and internal mechanism of manufacturing enterprises’ engagement in e-commerce platforms on their innovation, utilizing extremely detailed micro-level enterprise data from the 1688.com e-commerce platform and the China Patent Database for the period from 2002 to 2019. The main results are: (1) Manufacturing enterprises that use e-commerce platforms are much more likely to come up with new ideas; these results are still statistically significant even after using different robustness tests, such as propensity score matching and instrumental variable- based endogeneity treatment. (2) In terms of the influence mechanism, the presence of manufacturing enterprises on e-commerce platforms primarily stimulates their innovation by expanding the market size and facilitating knowledge spillover. (3) Furthermore, an extended analysis based on the innovation network reveals that participation in e-commerce platforms also significantly improves the patent centrality and the number of star patents for manufacturing enterprises . Therefore, this paper provides valuable insights for exploring the innovation-driven pathways for the deep integration of the digital economy and the real economy.
The digital era has brought forth opportunities for economic transformation and growth. Seizing the new possibilities presented by the digital economy is crucial for adapting to changes in significant societal challenges and driving high-quality economic development. By assessing the level of high-quality economic development in 279 cities across China from 2011 to 2020, this paper considers the national comprehensive big data pilot zones as a quasi-natural experiment. Through the utilization of a Difference- in-Differences method with multiple time periods, it investigates the driving effect of digital empowerment on the high-quality economic development of cities. The research results indicate that the high-quality economic development level of cities in the Bohai Rim, Yangtze River Delta, and southeastern coastal regions has consistently been at the forefront and most stable . Digital empowerment significantly propels the high-quality economic development of cities and exerts a greater influence on fostering shared and sustainable growth. Additionally, it is more conducive to advancing cities with higher levels, larger scales, and superior development quality of information infrastructure. Mechanism analysis demonstrates that digital empowerment primarily aligns production closer to the production possibility curve and extends its boundaries, thus driving the high-quality economic development of cities.
The public data serves as an important foundational resource and a key production factor for supporting digital transformation. Evaluating its impact on the integration of the digital economy and the real economy is essential for informed governance. Based on a quasi- natural experiment involving the inauguration of a government data platform, a coupled evaluation model is used to gauge the degree of integration between the digital and real economies across 280 prefecture-level cities nationwide spanning from 2010 to 2021. Employing the difference-in-differences model with multiple time periods, this paper empirically scrutinizes the impact of opening public data, exemplified by the launch of the government data platform, on the integration of digital and real economies. There are four findings. (1) Opening public data significantly boosts the integration of the digital and real economies, and the conclusion is upheld by a series of robustness tests. (2) Opening public data primarily impacts the integration of the digital and real economies through cost effect, factor allocation effect, and technological innovation effect. (3) The enhancement effect of opening public data on the digital-real integration varies notably across cities with different administrative levels, market protections, and resource endowments, with more pronounced effects seen in cities with higher administrative levels and greater market integration as well as non-resource-based cities. (4) The opening of higher-quality government data correlates with a more pronounced enhancement effect on the digital- real integration . The quality of open data, the level of platform construction, and the extent of policy support influence the value creation effect of opening public data to some extent. Based on the above findings, this paper puts forth policy recommendations that center on prioritizing the cultivation of a comprehensive data element market, exploring multidimensional avenues to drive digital-real integration, and implementing customized policies in line with urban development characteristics. These suggestions serve as guiding principles to promote the digital-real integration.
The digital economy has emerged as a vital force for driving the construction of a modern industrial system. This paper establishes a comprehensive evaluation indicator system for a city-level modern industrial system, incorporating dimensions such as the real economy, technological innovation, modern finance, and human resources. Based on the analysis of panel data from 278 cities in China spanning from 2011 to 2022, the impact of the digital economy on constructing a modern industrial system is investigated. Results from benchmark regression and Difference-in-Differences (DID) tests reveal a significant empowering effect stemming from digital economy development. Initiatives like the Broadband China strategy and Smart City pilot program have notably advanced the construction of a modern industrial system in pilot cities. Mechanism tests underscore the critical role of the real economy, scientific and technological innovation, modern finance, and human resources as channels through which the digital economy empowers industrial modernization. The test results of spatial spillover effects reveal that the digital economy positively drives the construction of a modern industrial system within cities and exerts a siphoning effect on their neighboring cities. Moreover, intellectual property rights protection generally serves to enhance the empowering impact of the digital economy. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that the empowering impact of digital economy development on the construction of a modern industrial system is notably stronger in cities in the eastern, central, and western regions of China, as well as in secondary urban agglomerations and non-urban agglomerations. This paper offers a theoretical framework and empirical evidence supporting the construction of a modern industrial system empowered by the digital economy.
The resilience and security of industrial and supply chains are not just reactive responses to disruptions in external circulation but proactive measures aimed at developing new quality productive forces. These actions play a crucial role in advancing the construction and improvement of the modern industrial system . Industrial and supply chains have various definitions and regulations. The former is linked to the innovative capacity of new quality productive forces, while the latter influences the complete realization and market value attainment of new quality productive forces. Organizing industrial chains around new quality productive forces, deploying the innovation chain within industrial chains, and establishing resilient industrial and supply chains are three interconnected components crucial for constructing a modern industrial system . The key aspects of resilience and security of supply chains from an industrial chain perspective center on the adaptability of intermediate goods and the corresponding innovation in these goods, involving addressing technological bottlenecks and upgrading the industrial chains. Enterprises with significant asset specificity exhibit a strong reliance on the stability and security of the supply chains. Supply chains are not a form of property organization, but rather an industrial organization. The fundamental theory for constructing resilient supply chains involves the co-creation and sharing of overall value within supply chains, fostering mutual trust among participating enterprises, maintaining supply chains with efficient contracts, and leveraging the leading role of supply chain leaders. In the digital economy era, digitization and intelligence can leverage their platforms and intelligent connections to enhance the controllability and resilience of supply chain operations.
The coordinated development of industrial digitalization and digital industrialization has propelled the establishment of a modern industrial system and the advancement of new industrialization. Industrial digitalization enhances the fundamental capabilities of traditional industries through the application of digital technology, thereby fostering the emergence of a new technology-economy paradigm within these industries. This process expedites the integration of the digital economy with traditional industries, enabling the augmentation of basic industrial capabilities and the modernization of the industrial chain in the context of new industrialization. Digital industrialization considers data as a novel factor in production. Through innovation, industrialization, and commercialization of digital technologies, it gives rise to emerging industries, formats, and models. Ultimately, this leads to the formation of the digital industrial chain and industrial clusters. To drive new industrialization, it is important to prioritize the real economy and promote the coordinated development of industrial digitalization and digital industrialization through mutually beneficial interaction, integration, and balanced models.