Research On The Impact Of Digital Service Trade On Total Factor Productivity

Since "the Belt and Road" initiative was put forward,the joint construction of "the Belt and Road" has gradually shifted from the "freehand brushwork" to the "fine brushwork" high-quality development stage,which has become an important driving force to improve regional economic and trade cooperation along the line and achieve economic globalization.In the era of deep digitalization,the service industry has shown a strong trend of globalization with the support of information technology,which is increasingly important for economic growth and technological progress and injects strong momentum into highquality economic development.To achieve high-quality development,the most critical connotation is that total factor productivity can be steadily improved.Exploring the role of digital service trade in total factor productivity growth and deeply analyzing the internal linkage mechanism between digital service trade and total factor productivity can provide strong support for the formulation of digital service trade policies and the promotion of highquality development along "the Belt and Road".Based on the data of countries along "the Belt and Road",this paper empirically tests the impact of digital service trade on total factor productivity,and combines existing research to conduct relevant theoretical analysis and propose research hypotheses.First,the digital service trade and total factor productivity of countries along "the Belt and Road" are measured,and the characteristics of their development are described;Secondly,based on the panel data of 40 countries along "the Belt and Road" from 2006 to 2020,this paper empirically examines the impact of digital service exports and imports on total factor productivity;In view of the unbalanced development along "the Belt and Road",the region is divided according to geographical location and economic corridor to analyse its regional heterogeneity characteristics;Regarding the possible structural mutation characteristics of the effect of digital service trade on total factor productivity,further use threshold model to test the nonlinear effect.The research conclusions of this paper are as follows: First,the level of digital service trade along "the Belt and Road" has improved during the study period,the distribution curve shows a trend of multi polarization,and the absolute difference has expanded.The total factor productivity along "the Belt and Road" has shown a fluctuating upward trend of "decline rise".Since "the Belt and Road" initiative was proposed,the growth of total factor productivity has accelerated,which is mainly reflected in the pulling effect of technical efficiency improvement.Secondly,digital service export trade has a promoting effect on total factor productivity growth,mainly manifested as a positive effect on technological efficiency improvement and a certain degree of inhibition on technological progress.The import trade of digital services will hinder the improvement of total factor productivity along "the Belt and Road",which is not conducive to the growth of technical efficiency.Thirdly,the impact of digital service trade on total factor productivity is characterized by regional heterogeneity.According to geographical location,the export trade of digital services in Central and Eastern Esia,West Asia,and Southern Europe has shown a significant promoting effect on total factor productivity growth,while the import trade of digital services has a poor effect.From the perspective of economic corridor division,digital service export trade can promote the improvement of total factor productivity and technological efficiency of the New Eurasian Continental Bridge and the Central Asia West Asia Economic Corridor.The import trade of digital services has varying degrees of inhibitory effects.Fourth,with the growing learning and absorptive capacity,the impact of digital services import trade on total factor productivity has "turned from negative to positive",and digital services export trade has shown a stronger positive incentive effect on total factor productivity,which indicates that promoting total factor productivity along "the Belt and Road" through digital services trade requires the support of high-level learning and absorptive capacity.This paper explores the impact of digital service trade on total factor productivity in the regions along "the Belt and Road",and puts forward countermeasures and suggestions based on the research conclusions.The high-quality joint construction of "the Belt and Road" cannot be separated from the support of high-level digital service trade,and it needs to rely on "the Belt and Road" initiative to further create a new highland for the development of digital service trade.Based on the heterogeneity characteristics of the regions along the route,potential trade frictions and risks in the process of digital service trade should be prevented in a timely manner,and new areas of digital service trade cooperation should be steadily expanded.Given the differences in learning and absorption capabilities among different countries,the process of opening up and developing digital service trade should be differentiated.