Spatial Effect of Digital Economy on Particulate Matter 2.5 in the Process of Smart Cities: Evidence from Prefecture-Level Cities in China

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the digital economy has developed rapidly. The airborne nature of COVID-19 viruses has attracted worldwide attention. Therefore, it is of great significance to analyze the impact of the digital economy on particulate matter 2.5 (PM(2.5)) emissions. The research sample of this paper include 283 prefecture-level cities in China from 2011 to 2019 in China. Spatial Durbin model was adopted to explore the spatial spillover effect of digital economy on PM(2.5) emissions. In addition, considering the impact of smart city pilot (SCP) policy, a spatial difference-in-differences (SDID) model was used to analyze policy effects. The estimation results indicated that (1) the development of the digital economy significantly reduces PM(2.5) emissions. (2) The spatial spillover effect of the digital economy significantly reduces PM(2.5) emissions in neighboring cities. (3) Smart city construction increases PM(2.5) emissions in neighboring cities. (4) The reduction effect of the digital economy on PM(2.5) is more pronounced in the sample of eastern cities and urban agglomerations.