数字经济赋能零售业绿色发展:作用机制与经验证据

The Digital Economy Enables Green Development of the Retail Industry:Mechanism of Action and Empirical Evidence

数字经济能够降低零售环节能耗与碳排放,对于促进零售业绿色转型和经济高质量发展具有重要意义。本文基于2008—2020年中国省级面板数据,实证检验数字经济对零售业绿色发展的直接影响与作用机制。研究发现,数字经济能够推动零售业绿色发展,并可通过激发绿色技术创新、增强绿色金融支撑、引领上游绿色供给等机制间接促进零售业绿色发展。进一步检验发现,政府主导型正式环境规制和公众参与型非正式环境规制对数字经济赋能零售业绿色发展均具有正向调节作用;数字经济对零售业绿色发展的促进效应在东部、南方、高人力资本和物质资本、市场一体化水平高的地区更加突出;零售业绿色发展水平提升能够强化数字经济赋能零售业绿色发展的边际效应。据此,应加强数字基础设施建设,深化零售企业数字技术应用,强化政府环境治理和消费者环保关注的协同配合,充分发挥数字经济效应赋能零售业绿色发展。

The digital economy can reduce energy consumption and carbon emissions in the retail sector,which is of great significance in promoting the green transformation of the retail industry and the high-quality development of the economy.This paper empirically examines the direct impact and mechanism of action of the digital economy on the green development of the retail industry based on provincial panel data in China from 2008 to 2020.It is found that the digital economy can promote the green development of the retail industry,and indirectly promote the green development of the retail industry through mechanisms such as stimulating green technological innovation,enhancing green financial support,leading the upstream green supply.It is further found that both government-led formal environmental regulation and public-participation informal environmental regulation have positive moderating effects on the green development of the retail industry empowered by the digital economy;the promotion effect of the digital economy on the green development of the retail industry is more prominent in the eastern and southern regions,regions with high levels of human capital and physical capital,and high levels of market integration;and the increase in the level of green development of the retail industry can strengthen the marginal effect of the green development of the retail industry empowered by the digital economy.Accordingly,we should strengthen the construction of digital infrastructure,deepen the application of digital technology in retail enterprises,and strengthen the synergy between the government’s environmental governance and consumers’concern for environmental protection,so as to give full play to the effect of the digital economy in enabling the green development of the retail industry.