Against the backdrop of the coordinated advancement of digital transformation and green low-carbon transformation, this study aims to examine the impact of intelligent economy development on green total factor productivity and its underlying mechanisms. Based on the evaluation index system of intelligent economy development, the entropy-weighted TOPSIS method is used to measure the development level of the intelligent economy in 30 Chinese provinces from 2015 to 2024 (The data do not include those of Xizang, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions. The same below), Green total factor productivity (GTFP) is measured by the SBM-GML model. On this basis, this study empirically examines the impact of the intelligent economy on GTFP and its underlying mechanisms. The findings are as follows. First, there is a significant U-shaped nonlinear relationship between the intelligent economy and GTFP. Second, mechanism analysis shows that carbon productivity is a transmission channel through which the intelligent economy affects GTFP, and the impact of the intelligent economy on carbon productivity is likewise U-shaped. Third, the green effect of the intelligent economy exhibits significant heterogeneity across regions, human capital, marketization level, and government intervention. The “cost effect–innovation effect” theoretical framework constructed in this paper, together with its empirical conclusions, provides new empirical evidence and policy implications for understanding the green development effect of the intelligent economy and for promoting the intelligent economy to empower the achievement of the “dual carbon” goals.
LuJ, LiT T. Industrial structure, technological innovation and green total factor productivity: Research in the perspective of heterogeneity [J]. Chinese Journal of Population Science, 2021(4): 86-97, 128 (in Chinese)
ChenH, LiuP, XuP. The study on the evolution mechanism of urban green total factor productivity: From the perspective of urban energy and land factor constraints[J]. China Population, Resources and Environment, 2020, 30(9): 93-105 (in Chinese)
[7]
LiC C, LiC C. How does green finance affect green total factor productivity: Evidence from China[J]. Energy Economics, 2022, 107: 105863. DOI: 10.1016/J.ENECO.2022.105863
WangB, LiuG T. Energy conservation and emission reduction and China’s green economic growth: Based on a total factor productivity perspective [J]. China Industrial Economics, 2015(5): 57-69 (in Chinese)
[10]
YangS Y, LiuF S. Impact of industrial intelligence on green total factor productivity: The indispensability of the environmental system[J]. Ecological Economics,2024, 216: 108021. DOI: 10.1016/J.ECOLECON.2023.108021
ZhaoT, ZhangZ, LiangS K. Digital economy, entrepreneurship, and high-quality economic development: Empirical evidence from urban China [J]. Journal of Management World, 2020(10): 65-76 (in Chinese)
WuJ, XiaoH B, ChenB. Digital economy and green total factor productivity[J]. Finance and Economy, 2022(1): 55-63 (in Chinese)
[17]
LangeS, PohlJ, SantariusT. Digitalization and energy consumption: Does ICT reduce energy demand[J]. Ecological economics, 2020, 176: 106760. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106760
[18]
LiC C, HeZ W, YuanZ. A pathway to sustainable development: Digitization and green productivity[J]. Energy Economics, 2023, 124. DOI: 10.1016/J.ENECO.2023.106772
ZhouW, YangZ Y. On the intelligent economy: Connotative characteristics, development status, and strategic choices [J].Reform, 2025(9): 1-15 (in Chinese)
WangJ. Forging new forms of intelligent economy: Theoretical context, formation mechanism and realization paths [J/OL]. Journal of Xinjiang Normal University: Edition of Philosophy and Social Sciences, [--].in Chinese)
ZhouW L, LiY P. Impact and mechanism of intelligent economy on the development of new quality productive forces[J]. East China Economic Management, 2025, 39(8): 50-60 (in Chinese)
SiC, RenB P. A study of the strategy for the deep integration of technoscientific innovation and industrial innovation in the new context of the smart economy[J]. Journal of Yunnan Minzu University: Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition, 2026(1): 109-118 (in Chinese)
[32]
AcemogluD, RestrepoP. Automation and new tasks: How technology displaces and reinstates labor[J]. Journal of economic perspectives, 2019, 33(2): 3-30
[33]
LiuJ, QianY, YangY J, YangZ D. Can artificial intelligence improve the energy efficiency of manufacturing companies: Evidence from China[J]. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2022, 19(4): 2091
LiJ G, GongF M, WangY B. How does artificial intelligence technology innovation impact carbon reduction in the manufacturing industry[J]. China Population, Resources and Environment, 2025, 35(2): 14-24 (in Chinese)
CaoX J, ZhangS J. Government digital governance and green total factor productivity improvement: Evidence from the “Internet+government services” pilot policy [J]. Shanghai Journal of Economics2024(12): 42-56 (in Chinese)
YuZ. Can low carbon transition help manufacturing industry go green: A quasi-natural experiment based on LCCP [J]. Commercial Research, 2024(3): 1-8 (in Chinese)
ShanH J. Reestimating the capital stock of China: 1952-2006 [J]. Journal of Quantitative & Technological Economics, 2008(10): 17-31 (in Chinese)
[46]
王珏, 王荣基. 智能经济新形态的指标体系与空间测度[J/OL]. 商业经济与管理, [--].
[47]
WangJ, WangR J. Indicator system and spatial measurement of the new form of intelligent economy[J/OL]. Business Economics and Management, [--].in Chinese)
[48]
国家统计局.中国统计年鉴[M]. 北京:中国统计出版社,2015—2024
[49]
National Bureau of Statistics. China Statistical Yearbook[M]. Beijing: China Statistics Press, 2015-2024 (in Chinese)
[50]
国家统计局能源统计司. 中国能源统计年鉴[M]. 北京:中国统计出版社,2015—2024
[51]
Department of Energy Statistics, National Bureau of Statistics of China. China Energy Statistical Yearbook[M]. Beijing: China Statistics Press, 2015-2024 (in Chinese)
[52]
国家统计局,生态环境部 等. 中国环境统计年鉴[M]. 北京:中国统计出版社,2015—2024
[53]
National Bureau of Statistics,Ministry of Ecology and Environment. China Statistical Yearbook on Environment[M]. Beijing: China Statistics Press,2015-2024 (in Chinese)
Department of Fixed Asset Investment Statistics, National Bureau of Statistics of China. Statistical Yearbook of China ’ s Fixed Asset Investment[M]. Beijing: China Statistics Press,2015-2024 (in Chinese)
[56]
WooldridgeJ M. Econometric Analysis of Cross Section and Panel Data[M]. Cambridge: MIT press, 2010
LiX W, LiN, XieY F. Digital economy, manufacturing agglomeration and carbon productivity[J]. Journal of Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, 2022,28(6): 131-145 (in Chinese)