Research on the mechanism of digital-real economic integration enhancing industrial structure upgrading

The integration of the digital and real economies (DRI) is an inevitable trend in future economic growth. This study measures DRI levels across 30 Chinese provinces from 2012 to 2022 using a coupling coordination model with panel data and empirically examines DRI's impact on industrial structure upgrading (ISU) through fixed-effects models, mediation effect models, and panel threshold models. The findings reveal that (1) DRI promotes industrial structure upgrading, a conclusion that remains valid under robustness tests and endogeneity tests; (2) DRI can facilitate ISU by enhancing consumption levels, correcting factor distortions, and accelerating the marketization process; (3) there exists a threshold effect, with a positive effect of DRI on ISU based on the level of digital economy and the scale of the real economy as threshold variables; (4) the impact of DRI on ISU differs across different regions due to differences in policy support and resource allocation; (5) ISU has a significant spatial spillover effect, as shown by spatial econometric analysis. These conclusions offer a new perspective, practical policy implications for China’s high-quality economic development, and strategic insights to enhance industrial competitiveness in the global value chain.