Research on the Coupled Evolution Relationship Between Digital Economy and Regional Sustainable Development

The current problem of regional development imbalance remains severe, hindering further economic growth in China. The emergence of the digital economy provides new possibilities for achieving regional sustainable development. Leveraging panel data encompassing 31 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2021, this research undertakes the construction of a comprehensive index framework elucidating the nexus between the digital economy and regional sustainability. Employing a suite of analytical tools including the coupled coordination model, panel fixed effects model, intermediary effect model, and threshold model, the study analyzes the impact of the digital economy on the level of regional sustainable development and its operating mechanism. The results show that the levels of the digital economy and regional sustainable development are rising but with significant spatial distribution differences, displaying a pattern of “high in the east and low in the west.” The digital economy significantly enhances the level of regional sustainable development, which remains valid after a series of robustness tests. Increasing marketization levels, reducing labor mismatches, and adjusting labor structures are important mechanisms through which the digital economy promotes regional sustainable development. There is regional heterogeneity and a nonlinear relationship in the impact of the digital economy on regional sustainable development. This study provides an empirical analysis of the digital economy’s influence on regional sustainable development and its underlying mechanisms, which are congruent with the advancement of the local knowledge economy. The intelligent technologies facilitated by the digital economy not only reshape the developmental trajectories of traditional industries at the local level but also foster an environment conducive to knowledge creation, dissemination, and collaboration. This accelerates the process of regional sustainable development.