Does The Digital Economy Improve Ecological Efficiency?

In pursuing high-quality economic development and achieving the goal of building a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way,ecological problems have become a limiting factor to some extent.The development of digital economy has led to the continuous development of modern high-tech industries,the continuous emergence of scientific and technological achievements,the more rational allocation of production factors and resources,and the promotion of the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure,providing the possibility to solve ecological problems and improve ecological efficiency.So,does the digital economy have the function of improving ecological efficiency? What is the impact mechanism of digital economy to improve ecological efficiency? Is there heterogeneity in the role of digital economy on ecological efficiency? To sort out,analyze and test the above problems is crucial for the coordinated development of economy and ecological environment and the fundamental realization of sustainable economic development.Based on the above research background,this paper,on the basis of combing the literature related to the development of digital economy,technological innovation and ecological efficiency,first of all,theoretically analyzes the impact mechanism of the development level of digital economy on ecological efficiency,and further discusses the intermediary role of technological innovation in the process of the development level of digital economy affecting ecological efficiency,and analyzes the internal relationship of the three;Then,select indicators to build an evaluation system to measure the development level of the digital economy and ecological efficiency,and analyze the development status of the digital economy and ecological efficiency.The eastern region is the fastest growing,the central region is slightly slower,and the western region is relatively backward compared with the central and western regions.Through sorting out the impact mechanism and current situation,this paper uses panel data from 30 provinces and cities across the country from 2015 to 2020 to empirically test the impact of the development level of digital economy on ecological efficiency.At the same time,it introduces the level of technological innovation as an intermediary variable to empirically test the intermediary role played by the level of technological innovation in the process of the development level of digital economy affecting ecological efficiency.At the same time,it analyzes whether there is heterogeneity analysis in the eastern,central and western regions.The results show that the development level of digital economy significantly promotes ecological efficiency(research hypothesis 1),the development level of digital economy significantly promotes technological innovation(research hypothesis 2),technological innovation significantly promotes ecological efficiency(research hypothesis 3),and technological innovation has intermediary effect(research hypothesis 4),of which the proportion of intermediary effect is 40.53%.From the regional level,in the eastern region,the development level of digital economy has significantly promoted the improvement of ecological efficiency by improving the level of technological innovation;In the central and western regions,the level of technological innovation does not play a mediating role in the process of digital economic development affecting ecological efficiency.Based on the above research conclusions,this paper puts forward the following countermeasures and suggestions: first,vigorously develop the digital economy and promote the construction of ecological civilization;Second,expand investment in technological innovation and improve the quality of technological innovation;Third,we should pay close attention to the cause of differential development and realize the overall improvement of ecological efficiency.