Recombining for Resilience: Digital–Green Convergence and Urban Governance Implications

Digital and green transitions may help cities adjust to shocks, but existing studies have mainly examined digitalization, green innovation, or coordinated policies separately. Whether integration of digital and green technological knowledge is associated with urban economic resilience remains less clear. We examine this question using a panel of 264 Chinese cities from 2009–2023. Digital–green technology convergence (DGTC) is measured using patent IPC co-classification and cross-domain direct citations; resilience is measured as the deviation of actual economic performance from a city-specific trend fitted over 2008–2019. Two-way fixed-effects models use lagged DGTC, and shift-share instrumental-variable estimates and alternative measures provide additional checks. Both DGTC measures are positively associated with the resilience indicator. DGTC is also associated with stronger pure digital and green capability bases and more favorable intercity patent-transfer network conditions. These channel estimates are consistent with the proposed mechanisms but do not establish causal mediation. The association is more pronounced in cities with greater structural rigidity, shock exposure, transition pressure, or network embeddedness. By distinguishing technological recombination from parallel digital and green activity, the study connects the organization of urban knowledge with economic adaptation. The findings inform urban innovation governance while remaining conditional on the resilience measure and the instrumental-variable exclusion restriction.