The Impact of Digital Talent Inflow on the Co-Agglomeration of the Digital Economy Industry and Manufacturing

The co-agglomeration of the digital economy industry and manufacturing is significant for addressing issues such as being “large but not strong” and “comprehensive but not refined” in China’s manufacturing sector. This study uses 269 cities in China from 2006 to 2022 as the research sample, innovatively employing data from digital economy enterprises and manufacturing enterprises to measure industrial co-agglomeration, and comprehensively analyzes the mechanism of how the inflow of digital talents influences the co-agglomeration of the digital economy industry and manufacturing. The findings are as follows: (1) From 2006 to 2022, the inflow of digital talents and the level of co-agglomeration between the digital economy industry and manufacturing in Chinese cities have consistently risen, generally moving towards higher inflow and higher levels of co-agglomeration. However, the inflow of digital talent in the central and western regions is relatively low, with most cities still facing difficulties due to inadequate policy support and resource investment. Industrial co-agglomeration exhibits characteristics of “core–periphery”, “multi-core agglomeration”, and “gradient diffusion” coexisting. (2) The flow of digital talents can significantly promote the co-agglomeration of the digital economy industry and manufacturing, and this conclusion remains valid after robustness testing. The flow of digital talents drives the co-agglomeration of the digital economy industry and manufacturing by enhancing the level of digital technology innovation, promoting the spillover and flow of digital knowledge, increasing the entrepreneurial activity of urban digital economy enterprises, and upgrading industrial structures. Furthermore, digital economy policies play a regulatory role in this process. (3) The promotion effect of digital talent inflow is more pronounced in low- and mid-end manufacturing, high-grade cities, well-developed digital infrastructure, and non-resource-based cities. By contrast, this effect is relatively weaker in high-end manufacturing and low-grade cities. In cities with weak digital infrastructure and resource-based cities, this effect is not significant. (4) The inflow of digital talents and the co-agglomeration of digital economy industry and manufacturing have a significant promotion effect on cities with similar economic development levels and adjacent geographical locations, demonstrating a positive diffusion effect.