Can urban digitalization significantly improve carbon emission efficiency? Evidence from 282 cities in China

Abstract Urban digitalization is a critical focus of economic development and low carbon transition. Recognizing how urban digitalization influences carbon emissions efficiency (CEE) is of great practical significance to high-quality urban development. Based on data from 2011-2019 at the municipal level in China, this paper adopts efficiency analysis and entropy value method to measure urban digitalization development and CEE and analyzes their spatial-temporal evolution characteristics. Moreover, this paper empirically tests the overall effect, time effect and spatial effect of urban digitalization on CEE as well as the effect pathway. According to research findings, urban digitalization has a significant stimulative influence over CEE. The promotion effect shows a trend of increasing over time. Urban digitalization has a positive spatial spillover effect on CEE of surrounding cities, which is conducive to accelerating the integration process of low-carbon development among cities. Urban digitalization improves CEE by raising the level of human and ICT capital and optimizing the industrial structure. The above conclusions still hold after robustness and endogenous tests. In addition, compared with cities in the eastern part of China and cities with low levels of digitalization, the promoting effect of urban digitalization on CEE is more significantly than that in the center and western part of China and cities with high digitalization levels. These discoveries have policy design reference value for the region to enhance the development strategy of urban digitalization and achieve a green development transition.