How does government support promote digital economy development in China? The mediating role of regional innovation ecosystem resilience

This study investigates how government support affects digital economy development in China and whether regional innovation ecosystem resilience mediates this relationship. Drawing upon a panel data set containing 31 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2020, an econometric model is constructed for empirical analysis. We find that government support significantly promotes digital economy development. Regional innovation ecosystem resilience plays a full mediating role between government support and digital economy development. In addition, the spatial spillover effects regional innovation ecosystem resilience on digital economy development is also examined. The results show that regional innovation ecosystem resilience has a positive spatial spillover effect on digital economy development. These findings have important implications for the Chinese policy agenda on digital economy development.