Will the Development of the Digital Economy Impact the Clean Energy Transition? An Intermediary Utility Analysis Based on Technological Innovation and Industrial Structure
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsMajor
Comments on “Will the development of the digital economy have an impact on the clean energy transition?——Intermediary utility analysis based on technological innovation and industrial structure”
Dear Authors,
The presentation of this research can be significantly enhanced to meet the standards of a scientific manuscript. Specific areas requiring attention are outlined below.
Major Comments:
(1) Abstract Enhancement:
- a) Clearly state the problem investigated and explain its significance.
- b) Provide a concise overview of the methods employed in the study.
- c) Please show specific results as unit value
(2) Presented novelty is not enough. Regression method is not new method for obtaining influences several parameters. Please explain how parameters have been chosen?
(3) “H1：Digital economy development helps clean energy transition” Please be more specific, what does “helps” mean in scientific way? How it can be measured? Please also explain “development of ICT can play a positive role in improving energy efficiency.”
(4) Table 1. Please use the same parameters like in equations
(5) Please explain “The paper selects five control variables that determine the clean energy transition.” How selected? What kind of methods?
(6) Please explain “In this paper, before the analysis, the collected data were shrunk, eliminated and other processing, so as to reduce the extreme values, reduce the heteroskedasticity of the data, to further improve the accuracy and effectiveness” How big was collected data before and after this process?
(7) Please add abbreviations part
(8) please do not use references in conclusions part
(9) Please show raw data
Minor comments:
(1) First paragraph are not included in any chapter/section.
(2) “1. Review of relevant research literature” how did you define “relevant”?
(3) “facilitating effect on optimizing the energy consumption” every word “optimize” should be explained with objective function
Some typos: “transition.Zhao”
Author Response
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Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis study explores how the digital economy influences clean energy transition in China, using municipal data from 2013–2022. It identifies technological innovation and industrial upgrading as key mediators. The findings reveal regional disparities and suggest targeted policy recommendations. However, the manuscript would benefit from improvements by addressing the following comments and questions.
- What kind of regional heterogeneity was observed, and how might it influence the formulation of differentiated policy recommendations?
- Were there any limitations in the data sources or methodology that could affect the generalizability of the findings?
- The numbering of equations (3) and (5) is unclear in the manuscript. Please ensure consistency and clarity in equation references throughout the paper.
- Please remove the definite article ‘the’ from the title of section 2.2 to ensure consistency across the titles.
- I would appreciate it if you could provide an overview of the limitations associated with the software that was utilized in this project, including any challenges or constraints that might have impacted the results.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis paper focuses on the impact of the digital economy on the clean energy transition, constructing a corresponding theoretical framework and conducting empirical analysis. The overall structure of the article is complete, the data are detailed, the empirical approach is clear, and the conclusions present certain innovations. The contribution to the interdisciplinary field of digital economy and energy transition is notable. The empirical analysis covers mediation mechanisms and heterogeneity examination; the choice of variables and robustness checks have a certain depth, and the policy recommendations are linked to empirical results with some specificity. However, the paper still has several shortcomings that urgently need improvement. Specific suggestions are as follows:
- Enrich theoretical definitions and framework
The definitions of “digital economy” and “clean energy transition” in the paper are relatively crude. Given the broad scope of both concepts, it is suggested to systematically review the multidimensional components of the digital economy (such as digital infrastructure, digital industrialization, industrial digitalization, digital services, etc.) in the introduction, and describe in detail how each dimension separately influences the clean energy transition. This will enrich the theoretical logic and enhance the depth and rigor of the paper.
- Strengthen the reflection of marginal contributions
Although the paper is the first to empirically explore the causal relationship between the digital economy and clean energy transition, introducing mediation mechanisms like technological innovation and industrial structure upgrading, the overall innovation is limited. It is recommended to deepen heterogeneity analysis (e.g., classification by different regions and economic development levels) to highlight the diverse effects of the digital economy under different contexts, thereby enhancing the marginal contribution and innovative value of the research.
- Improve endogenous treatment methods
The current examination of endogeneity is insufficient, especially lacking consideration of potential reverse causality. It is suggested to seek appropriate and effective exogenous instrumental variables based on theoretical logic, use methods such as 2SLS for robustness checks, and supplement the statistical validation of instrument relevance and validity to strengthen the credibility of causal inference.
- Expand control variable system and explore interaction effects
The control variables are relatively limited, currently covering economic growth, FDI, and trade openness, but lacking controls for energy prices, industrial structure, and environmental regulations. It is recommended to enrich the control variables and explore interaction effects between control variables and core variables to better alleviate omitted variable bias and improve model explanatory power.
- Implement multi-dimensional robustness checks
The current robustness checks are relatively singular, covering only sample exclusion and quantile regression. It is suggested to expand robustness testing methods, such as replacing the dependent variable measurement indicators (e.g., using carbon emission efficiency or energy efficiency indicators), applying province-year interaction fixed effects to control spatial-temporal heterogeneity, etc. Additionally, for provincial panel data, spatial econometric models are recommended to effectively address endogeneity caused by spatial dependence.
- Update and enrich literature review
The literature review leans heavily on Chinese and relatively earlier studies and lacks integration of cutting-edge international literature. It is suggested to add recent research from the past five years in major international journals related to the intersection of digital economy and clean energy transition, including topics such as green technological innovation and smart grids, to enhance the academic vision and forefront of the paper.
- Improve rigor of mediation effect testing
The current mediation effect analysis is only based on coefficient significance. It is recommended to use Bootstrap methods and Sobel tests, report confidence intervals and significance levels of mediation effects in detail, thereby enhancing the scientific validity and persuasiveness of the mediation mechanism analysis.
- Improve description of core variables and data processing
The description of variable construction and data processing is insufficient. It is suggested to elaborate on the construction of the digital economy index (including the basis for indicator selection and entropy method implementation details), sources and calculation methods of clean energy transition variables to ensure transparency and reproducibility of the study.
- Standardize chart design and annotations
Some charts’ formats are inconsistent and annotations are insufficient, which affects information communication. It is recommended to unify chart styles and enhance figure notes, especially for regression result tables and research model diagrams, to improve professionalism and reading experience.
- Refine policy recommendations in the conclusion
The policy recommendations in the conclusion are somewhat broad and lack specific guidance for different regions and influence mechanisms. It is suggested to combine empirical results to clarify regional differences and propose more targeted policy measures, such as strengthening digital infrastructure construction, promoting regional coordinated development, and incentivizing technological innovation, to improve the paper’s policy relevance. Meanwhile, discussion of research limitations and future research directions should be added.
Author Response
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Reviewer 4 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsThis paper explores the relationship between the digital economy and clean energy transition. While its topic is relevant, it requires major revisions.
The theoretical mechanisms are simplistic. Explanations for how the digital economy impacts clean energy transition through technological innovation and industrial structure upgrading lack depth, and the relationships among these factors are incompletely developed.
In empirical analysis, the digital economy index may be incomplete, the method for calculating it could be improved, and the measure of clean energy transition is too narrow.
The endogeneity analysis using GMM has flaws as the selection of instrumental variables is not well - discussed.
Overall, significant improvements are needed in theoretical depth and empirical rigor.
Author Response
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Round 2
Reviewer 1 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsDear Authors
there is no match between equations, parameters and Figures.
Author Response
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Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Reviewer 3 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsI have no new comments.
Author Response
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Reviewer 4 Report
Comments and Suggestions for AuthorsPlease carefully revise the format of the full text and the literature, etc., according to the target journal.
Author Response
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