Abstract: The traditional economic model driven by factor input produces a large amount of pollution emissions, which is not conducive to the long-term development of the economy. Supporting green development with technological progress has become an inevitable trend in the economic and social development. However, the proportion of green innovation in China is far from enough, and the overall innovation level is characterized by a large quantity but inferior quality. Driven by a new round of information technology revolution, the development of the digital economy with digital elements as means of production is reshaping the structure and form of the economy, providing a new solution for improving the environmental pollution problems caused by traditional industries. The existing literature has begun to pay attention to the impact of the digital economy on the economic and social development. However, few studies have explored the green effect and the ecological environment contribution of the digital economy from the perspective of the urban development. In addition, existing research has not carried out qualitative and quantitative analysis of the technological innovation output under the background of the digital economy and the green development transformation. The path mechanism of digital economy's role in green innovation still needs to be revealed, and the economic impact of the digital economy driven by the green effect still needs to be further explored. To interpret the above problems, this paper uses the urban panel data to examine the impact of the digital economic development on the green patent output and its mechanism from the perspective of the green technology innovation. The empirical results show that the development of the digital economy does indeed promote the increase of the urban green innovation output. Digital technology can be cultivated and diffused within and across industries at very low cost, generating more efficient innovation output. In this process, green technology innovation is mainly in the field of the clean production and the end-of-line treatment. Green technology innovation also promotes the ecological efficiency improvement and the economic “green” operation by reducing unnecessary resource consumption and eliminating pollution emissions, achieving high-quality green innovation output growth. The digital economy significantly benefits the output of urban green innovation and has a more prominent role in small and medium-sized cities. Besides, it inhibits the “siphon effect” of large cities on the surrounding small and medium-sized cities and enhances the “diffusion effect”. The digital economy in regions with a high level of marketization plays a greater role in supporting green innovation, indicating that the digital economy relies on a good market environment. The optimization of the market regulation function and the market environment consolidates this promoting role of the digital economy. The enhancement of the economic agglomeration effect and the improvement of the financing environment are important transmission paths for the digital economy to promote urban green innovation. The digital economy drives economic agglomeration and facilitates the spillover effects of green technologies. At the same time, the digital economy optimizes the regional financial structure and provides a favorable financial environment for green technology innovation. Further analysis finds that green innovation brought about by the development of the digital economy can effectively reduce pollution emissions and achieve high-quality economic development. The conclusions of this paper provide meso-level empirical evidence for in-depth understanding of the green innovation effect of the digital economy and has policy significance for accelerating the green transformation under the new development pattern. Firstly, the government should increase support for the digital industry, ramp up investment in the construction of information networks, and accelerate the comprehensive coverage and completion of the digital infrastructure. Secondly, small and medium-sized cities should make differentiated positioning in the process of developing the digital economy and green innovation. They should actively expand and improve their ability to undertake industrial transfer and realize the deep integration of advantageous industries in late-developing regions and the digital economy. Thirdly, the government and the market participants should work together to create a favorable market environment for fair competition and build a new green industry ecology. Financial institutions should also use digital technology to lead the upgrading of financial service capabilities and reduce the digital divide. Fourthly, the government should also strengthen the policy guidelines for green innovation and the protection of intellectual property rights, improve the ability and the level of all-round public services targeted at green innovation.

Key words: Digital Economy, Green Innovation, Inclusive Function, High-quality Development

摘要： 本文从绿色技术创新的视角出发,利用城市面板数据考察数字经济对城市绿色创新产出的影响及其作用机制。实证结果发现,数字经济有效提升了城市绿色创新的产出,表现出兼顾中小城市的普惠功能且在市场化水平较高的区域作用更大。数字经济提升城市绿色创新的机制在于:数字经济推动经济集聚和优化区域金融结构,在促进绿色技术溢出效应的同时为绿色创新提供优渥的金融环境。进一步分析发现,数字经济发展带来的绿色创新有效降低了污染排放。本文的结论为深入理解数字经济的绿色创新效应提供了中观层面经验证据,也为加快新发展格局下的绿色转型给予理论指引和政策建议。

关键词: 数字经济, 绿色创新, 普惠功能, 高质量发展