The Impact of High-Tech Industry on Carbon Reduction Effect and Its Mechanism

Faced with severe global climate issues, the high-tech industry can be treated as a vital instrument connected with the carbon reduction effect to promote high-quality development. However, the influence, besides the underlying mechanism between the high-tech industry and the carbon reduction effect, are still unknown. Therefore, this study utilized the spatial Durbin model to explore such issues. First, it gauges the comprehensive scores of the provincial high-tech industry from 2012 to 2021. Second, it determines the influence of high-tech industry development on the carbon reduction effect. Third, it identifies three mediators including technological innovation, industrial structure, and economic development level, to excavate such influence profoundly. The outcomes confirm the influence of high-tech industry on carbon reduction effects, directly and indirectly. First, it focuses on the extant literature by exploring the connection between the high-tech industry and the carbon reduction effect. Second, it investigates the three mediators- technological innovation, industrial structure, and economic development level- to further extend the comprehension about this field of technology. In particular, high-tech industry development can either completely or partially decrease carbon reduction by facilitating technological innovation, upgrading industrial structure, and promoting economic advancement. According to these findings, this study provides certain strategies and policy recommendations to the government, related industries, and firms, which could benefit green development and the low-carbon economy in China.