As a new economic form characterized by the deep integration of digitalization and intelligence, the digital-intelligent economy has become a key topic in economic development due to its empowering effects on high-quality employment. This study, based on Marx’s theory of productive forces, the family joint supply theory, and wage bargaining theory, empirically examines the impact of the digital-intelligent economy on high-quality employment and its mechanisms using micro-level data from the China Labor-Force Dynamics Survey (CLDS) for 2014, 2016, and 2018, as well as provincial-level macro data from China. The study finds that the high-quality employment effect of the digital-intelligent economy is significant. Mechanism analysis reveals that the digital-intelligent economy indirectly enhances high-quality employment through two paths: reducing labor intensity and improving skills matching. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the high-quality employment effect is more prominent among youth, in high fiscal-investment regions, and within skill-intensive industries. Moreover, the mediation effects of work intensity and skills matching exhibit significant heterogeneity across individuals, regions, and industries. This research provides feasible pathways and policy recommendations for formulating differentiated employment strategies and promoting high-quality, full employment in the era of the digital-intelligent economy.
Guo et al. (Sun,) studied this question.