Impact of digital economic development and environmental pollution on residents' health: an empirical analysis based on 279 prefecture-level cities in China

Can the digital economy foster advancements in the healthcare sector? - a case study using interprovincial data from China

BACKGROUND

As China's "Internet + Health" initiative advances, the digital economy significantly influences the quality of medical and health services. However, there is a research gap concerning the digital economy's specific impacts, mechanisms, and marginal effects on these services. This gap impedes a comprehensive understanding of the digital economy's potential in healthcare.

AIMS

This study aims to clarify the digital economy's impact mechanisms on medical and health services levels, offering a scientific foundation for more targeted and effective policy formulation, thereby fostering sustainable digital development in healthcare.

METHODS

Utilizing panel data from China's 31 provinces (2011-2020), this paper employs the Spatial Durbin Model to analyze the spatial and marginal effects of the digital economy on healthcare service levels. To ensure analysis accuracy and robustness, the study refines the spatial weight matrix and addresses model endogeneity using the Generalized Spatial Two-Stage Least Squares method. Additionally, it examines regional disparities in the digital economy's impact through SDM and explores intermediary mechanisms and threshold effects using a mediation effect model and a panel threshold model.

RESULTS

Findings indicate that the digital economy positively affects medical and health services in both local and neighboring regions, with variations across areas. The eastern region particularly benefits from the digital economy's enhancement of service levels, while the central and western regions see less impact. The digital economy enhances services by improving medical resource levels and promoting their coordinated development. However, this positive effect is moderated by the digital economy's and the region's economic development levels, with more pronounced impacts in regions with higher digital and economic development.

CONCLUSIONS

The digital economy plays a crucial role in improving medical and health services, and its full potential is beneficial for the industry's advancement and sustainability. Nonetheless, addressing the uneven digital economy development across regions is essential to ensure equitable benefits for all areas.

Environmental pollution, trade openness and the health of middle-aged and elderly people: an analysis of threshold effect based on data from 111 prefecture-level cities in China

BACKGROUND

Environmental pollution seriously endangers people's physical and mental health, especially the health of middle-aged and elderly people. Environmental pollution, trade openness, and population health are interconnected. Environmental pollution may have a nonlinear impact on health, and the impact of trade openness on the health effects of environmental pollution may not be a simple strengthening or weakening effect. However, few studies have used threshold effects model to explore the nonlinear mechanisms of environmental pollution's impact on health in China. As a result, this study incorporates trade openness into the research framework on the health effects of environmental pollution, aiming to study the mechanism of environmental pollution on health.

METHODS

Using the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) data from 2013 to 2020 and the data of 111 prefecture-level cities in China, we combine two-way fixed-effects models and threshold models to explore the effects of environmental pollution on the health of middle-aged and elderly people and the role of trade openness in the path of environmental pollution affecting health.

RESULTS

Environmental pollution impairs the health of middle-aged and elderly people, and there is a single threshold effect and regional heterogeneity in this negative impact. Trade openness has the effect of first weakening and then strengthening in the inhibitory effect of environmental pollution on health.

CONCLUSION

The negative impact of environmental pollution on health has regional heterogeneity, and there is a nonlinear relationship between environmental pollution and the health of middle-aged and elderly people. The health effect of environmental pollution is mainly long-term effect, and trade openness has a threshold effect on the impact of environmental pollution on health. Therefore, instead of adopting a one-size-fits-all policy, environmental and economic policies should be customized according to the degree of environmental pollution, trade openness, and regional variations, so as to safeguard the health of middle-aged and elderly individuals through effective environmental governance.

Analysis of the influence and coupling effect of environmental regulation policy tools on industrial green and low-carbon transformation

Industrial green and low-carbon transformation plays a crucial role in China's efforts to achieve its Carbon peaking and Carbon neutrality objectives. The implementation of environmental regulation policies is a key institutional framework that facilitates this transformation. Therefore, it is of great importance to explore the impact and interplay of these policies on industrial green and low-carbon transformation to foster high-quality economic development. This study categorizes environmental regulation policy instruments into three types: command-type, investment-type, and expense-type. Using industrial panel data from 30 provinces in China spanning the period from 1997 to 2021, both theoretical analysis and empirical testing are conducted to investigate the effects of these different policy instruments on industrial green and low-carbon transformation. The benchmark regression results show that the impact of command-type environmental regulation and investment-type environmental regulation on industrial green and low-carbon transformation shows an inverted U-shaped feature of rising first and then declining. The impact of cost-based environmental regulation on industrial green and low-carbon transformation shows a U-shaped feature of decreasing first and then increasing. The coupling of command-type environmental regulation and investment-type environmental regulation, command-type environmental regulation and expense-type environmental regulation, and the coupling of the three kinds of environmental regulation can promote industrial green and low-carbon transformation. The mechanism test results show that the impact of formal environmental regulation on industrial green and low-carbon transformation has a transmission mode of "formal environmental regulation-green technology innovation path-green and low-carbon transformation."

Urban digital economy, environmental pollution, and resident's health-empirical evidence from China

In light of China's rapid advancement in the digital economy and the implementation of the "Healthy China" initiative, it is crucial to assess the impact of the digital economy on residents' health. This study analyzes data from the 2012, 2014, and 2016 China Labor Force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) to evaluate the health of residents using both subjective and objective criteria. Furthermore, it calculates the digital economy development index for Chinese cities and investigates its influence on the subjective and objective health of residents, along with the underlying mechanisms. The empirical results reveal a U-shaped pattern in the effect of the digital economy on health levels, initially detrimental but subsequently beneficial. The analysis of mechanisms shows that the digital economy's development initially increases and then decreases environmental pollution, impacting health through environmental changes. Additionally, the study finds variations in this impact based on age and urban-rural differences, with more pronounced effects on rural and older adult populations, who also experience the U-shaped curve's turning point more rapidly. These findings highlight the necessity of advancing digital economy infrastructure to positively influence environmental quality and improve public health. The study emphasizes the urgent need for policymakers to invest in digital infrastructure to foster a sustainable and healthy future. This requires a holistic approach to development, focusing on both urban and rural areas, to promote inclusive growth and reduce the digital divide.