The mediating effect of urbanisation on digital technology policy and economic development: Evidence from China

Digital technology policies beyond the traditional urban–rural dichotomy have become critical in economic and industrial integration. Few empirical studies examine the specific impact pathway of digital economy policy on urbanisation, especially urbanisation driven by the digital economy. This study attempts to reveal the linkage between urbanisation and digital technology policies to provide a reference for cities aiming to achieve urban transformation through upgrading their digital economies. Based on previous research, this work examines Chongqing, a major city in terms of the digital economy. This study develops a three-tier indicator system for digital technology policy, using the entropy-weighted technique for order of preference by similarity to ideal solution technique to generate the indicators, and proves the partially mediating role of urbanisation via regression modelling methods and Sobel–Goodman. The discoveries reveal that urbanisation mediates digital technology policy and economic development. Urbanisation driven by the digital economy is not merely the application of information technology and the expansion of cities but the synergy and interaction of knowledge, industrial structures and resource allocation.

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