Digital Paradox: Platform Economy and High-Quality Economic Development—New Evidence from Provincial Panel Data in China

Abstract

Based on provincial panel data of China from 2011 to 2019, this paper discusses the influence and mechanism of the platform economy on the high-quality development of regional economies. It is found that the platform economy has an inverted U-shaped impact on the high-quality development of regional economies. On the left side of the inverted U-shaped inflection point, the platform economy plays a significant role in promoting high-quality economic development; on the right side of the inflection point, the platform economy has an obvious inhibitory effect on high-quality economic development. Statistical analysis showed that 85% of the observations fell on the left side of the inflection point, indicating that China’s platform economy as a whole is in the early stages of development. From the strong and weak grouping test of the degree of government intervention, it was found that the platform economy only has an inverted U-shaped effect on the high-quality development of the areas with weak intervention. From the point of view of the coefficient, the platform economy has a greater promoting effect on the high-quality development of the areas with strong intervention. From the grouping test of the quality of the market system, it was found that the inverted U-shaped curve is steeper in the areas with higher institutional quality, indicating that, in the early stage of development, the platform economy has a greater promoting effect on the high-quality development of areas with perfect institutions. In addition, the analysis of regional heterogeneity showed that, in the early stage of development, the promoting effect of the platform economy on the high-quality development of the northeastern and western regions is more significant. After exceeding the threshold, the platform economy has an inhibitory effect on the high-quality development of all regions. The mechanism test shows that technology, talent, and capital in the initial stage of development can all play a positive regulatory role; after exceeding the threshold, platform economic monopoly may restrain high-quality economic development by hindering technological progress and causing a mismatch of labor–capital elements and resources.