Impact of the Digital Economy on PM2.5: Experience from the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yellow River Basin

The development of the digital economy holds great significance for alleviating haze pollution. To estimate the impact of the digital economy on haze pollution, this paper explores the spatiotemporal evolutionary characteristics of the digital economy and PM2.5 concentration in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River Basin from 2011 to 2019 and conducts regression analysis by combining a fixed effect (FE) model and the spatial Durbin model (SDM). Moreover, this study divides the mitigation effect of haze pollution into a direct effect and a spatial spillover effect, and it further analyzes the mechanism from the perspectives of technological innovation and the industrial structure. The empirical results show that the development level of the digital economy increases year by year and that the concentration of PM2.5 decreases year by year. The digital economy level and PM2.5 concentration in the downstream region are higher than those in the middle region, and the digital economy is negatively correlated with haze pollution. Similarly, the spatial spillover effect of the digital economy is conducive to curbing haze pollution. The robustness test also supports this conclusion. In addition, there is regional heterogeneity in the impact of the digital economy on haze pollution. The direct effect and spatial spillover effect of the digital economy on haze pollution in the downstream region are greater than those in the middle region. This study suggests that to realize air pollution prevention and control, it is necessary to strengthen the construction of digital infrastructure and create a good digital economy development environment based on local conditions. Encouraging the development of digital technological innovation and promoting industrial digital transformation hold great significance for alleviating haze pollution.