Impact of digital economy on regional innovation efficiency from the perspective of spatial spillover

The emergence of the digital economy presents potential opportunities for innovation activities. Studying the impact of the digital economy on regional innovation efficiency is of great significance for enhancing regional innovation-driven development. Based on panel data from Chinese provinces over the period 2013–2022, this paper constructs a comprehensive digital economy index using the entropy weight method (EWM) and employs the spatial Durbin model (SDM) to investigate how the digital economy affects regional innovation efficiency. The findings reveal that the digital economy has a significant and positive effect on innovation efficiency and exerts a positive spillover effect on other provinces. Second, the digital economy contributes to innovation efficiency by alleviating market segmentation and promoting industrial structure upgrading. Furthermore, the positive spillover effect of the digital economy strengthens with geographic distance, peaks at 400 km, and diminishes beyond 600 km. This study provides empirical evidence for the positive externality of the digital economy on innovation efficiency, underscores the necessity of digital economy development, and provides valuable policy implications for improving regional innovation performance.