Impact of the digital economy on water stress and its spatial effects

This study used the panel data of 30 provinces in China (except the Xizang Autonomous Region, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan regions of China) from 2010 to 2020, measured the development level of the digital economy by constructing an evaluation indicator system, and explored the water resources pressure and its spatial and temporal variations from the perspective of water quantity and quality based on the water footprint methodology. The impact of the digital economy on water resources pressure was further analyzed through a benchmark regression model and a spatial econometric model. The empirical results indicate that: The water stress index, the water stress based on the blue water footprint and the water quality stress based on the grey water footprint showed an overall trend of gradual increase. Also, the stress index in the eastern and central regions was generally higher than that in the western region. The development of the digital economy significantly reduces the regional water stress index, water quantity pressure and water quality pressure, and there is regional heterogeneity in the impact on the overall regional water stress, which is significant in the eastern and central regions, but not in the western region. The results of the spatial Durbin model test indicated that, the development of the digital economy not only reduced the water stress of the province but also had a negative spillover effect on the water stress of the surrounding provinces.