School of International Business and Economics, Changchun University of Finance and Economics, Changchun, China.
PLoS One. 2023 Aug 9;18(8):e0289817. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289817. eCollection 2023.
In the context of China's new stage of economic development, this study examines the role of higher education in China's high quality economic development (HQED) strategy from a digital perspective. Using panel data of 30 Chinese provinces (municipalities and autonomous regions) collected from 2012-2020, comprehensive evaluations of the level of higher education and HQED are conducted through the entropy method, and a regression analysis is carried out with the fixed effect model. The results show that the level of higher education is positively associated with HQED and is able to achieve this effect through mechanisms that actively promote digital innovation and development. Further, the structure and quality of higher education plays a greater part in facilitating digital development than the scale and quantity. The heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that the impact of higher education on HQED is more significant in the eastern region of China than in the western region. An increase in the proportion of fiscal expenditure to GDP diminishes the impact of higher education on HQED, while an improvement in digital governance level enhances its influence.
在中国经济发展的新阶段，本研究从数字角度探讨了高等教育在中国高质量经济发展（HQED）战略中的作用。本研究使用了 2012-2020 年中国 30 个省（自治区、直辖市）的面板数据，通过熵值法对高等教育和 HQED 的水平进行了综合评价，并采用固定效应模型进行了回归分析。结果表明，高等教育水平与 HQED 呈正相关，并且能够通过积极促进数字创新和发展的机制来实现这一效果。此外，高等教育的结构和质量比规模和数量更能促进数字发展。异质性分析表明，高等教育对 HQED 的影响在中国东部地区比西部地区更为显著。财政支出占 GDP 的比例的增加会降低高等教育对 HQED 的影响，而数字治理水平的提高则会增强其影响。
