An Empirical Analysis of the Impact of Digital Publishing on the Digital Economy—Take Shanghai as an example
Published Online: Feb 27, 2025
Received: Oct 28, 2024
Accepted: Feb 02, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/amns-2025-0093
Keywords
© 2025 Lan Sheng et al., published by Sciendo
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
With the rapid development of global information technology, the digital economy has become a new engine for global economic growth. In the wave of digital transformation, the digital economy, supported by technologies such as big data, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, has significantly driven the transformation of traditional industries and the development of emerging industries. According to data from the “White Paper on the Development of China’s Digital Economy,” the scale of China’s digital economy reached 39.2 trillion yuan in 2020, accounting for 38.6% of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP). This phenomenon highlights the undeniable role of the digital economy in promoting economic growth, improving efficiency, and driving innovation. The digital economy is not a single industry but a hybrid economic model that spans the primary, secondary, and tertiary sectors, encompassing multiple industries and fields. Among them, digital publishing, as an integral part of the digital economy, is playing an increasingly important role. Digital publishing is a new form of publishing that relies on digital technology, distributing and disseminating content through digital channels such as the internet. It is not only a technological reconstruction of the traditional publishing industry but also a revolution in the way content is produced, distributed, and consumed. In recent years, with the widespread adoption of mobile internet, the forms of digital publishing have become increasingly diversified, including e-books, digital journals, online literature, and database services. According to the “2020 China Digital Publishing Industry Report,” the total revenue of China’s digital publishing industry has exceeded 1 trillion yuan, further confirming the industry’s critical position in the modern economy.Exploring the relationship between digital publishing and the digital economy holds significant theoretical and practical value. From a theoretical perspective, digital publishing, at the intersection of the cultural and information industries, provides a unique lens through which to observe how the digital economy promotes economic structural optimization through the digitalization of cultural content. The digital publishing value chain spans creative, technological, and service industries, and through the production and distribution of digital content, it drives the coordinated development of several related sectors within the digital economy. For instance, digital publishing relies on big data processing and cloud computing platforms, while the dissemination of its products stimulates growth in communication equipment, end-user services, and related industries. Digital publishing is not only a part of the digital economy but also one of its driving forces, with significant spillover effects on other industrial sectors.From a practical perspective, studying the impact of digital publishing on the digital economy helps enhance regional innovation capacity and competitiveness. An empirical study of the digital publishing industry in Shanghai can reveal how digital publishing influences local economic development and structural optimization through the extension and penetration of its value chain. Digital publishing not only promotes the digital production and consumption of cultural content but also drives the development of related industries through the linkages in its value chain, thereby strengthening regional economic competitiveness and innovation capabilities.
To assess the contribution of digital publishing to the digital economy from an input-output perspective, it is essential to fully consider the impact of the digital publishing industry’s development on other sectors within the digital economy. This includes its influence on industries such as artificial intelligence manufacturing, display devices, computing, big data, cloud computing, and network access and services. Based on the statistical practices of digital publishing and related industries, certain methodologies can be used to calculate the direct consumption of related fields during the production, dissemination, and consumption of digital content, which is then incorporated into the statistical data of these industries. In theory, this can also be regarded as part of digital publishing’s direct contribution.If an input-output table for the digital publishing industry were to be compiled, it would reveal that the industry’s impact on the national economy extends far beyond the directly visible sectors. For example, Shanghai has compiled the “Shanghai Digital Publishing Industry Input-Output Table (2020)” as part of its broader statistical practices for digital publishing and related sectors. Out of the 141 product department classifications in Shanghai’s national economic input-output table, the digital publishing industry is connected to 114 departments. These include digital economy sectors such as mobile telecommunications services, fixed telecommunications services, software development, digital technology consulting, internet access and related services, and communication terminal equipment manufacturing.As industrial integration continues to deepen, the contribution rate of the digital publishing industry to the digital economy will evolve accordingly. The impact of digital publishing on the digital economy can vary depending on the analytical perspective. This paper focuses on the input-output perspective and constructs a corresponding measurement framework to analyze the influence of digital publishing on the digital economy.
The impact of digital publishing on the digital economy is mainly reflected in two major levels:
First, the production of digital publishing affects the economic and technical linkages of various industries within the digital economy, including both direct consumption and total consumption.
Second, the digital publishing industry impacts various sectors of the digital economy in terms of final consumption items, including both household consumption and social consumption.
Based on the aforementioned industry classifications, the correlation analysis between digital publishing products and the digital economy can be conducted using the national economic input-output table. The primary analysis methods include:
The impact of the development of the digital publishing industry on the digital economy can be analyzed through the technical and economic ripple effects of various industries in the input-output table. This is primarily achieved by examining the direct consumption coefficient, total consumption coefficient, indirect consumption coefficient, influence coefficient, and sensitivity coefficient in the input-output table.
The direct consumption coefficient reflects the direct production-technical relationships between industry sectors providing products to each other. It is represented by aij, which indicates the quantity of product i required to produce one unit of product j. The larger the value, the more closely the two sectors are interdependent. The matrix of direct consumption coefficients is denoted as A, with the calculation formula being:
In the analysis, the direct consumption coefficient is used to examine how the digital publishing industry and its product production impact the production and consumption in other information industries.
The total consumption coefficient comprehensively reflects both direct and indirect relationships between industrial sectors. It represents the quantity of product from sector i that is directly and indirectly consumed to produce one unit of final product from sector j ,denoted as bij.This is represented by the total consumption coefficient matrix B.The formula for this is:
In this context, (I-A)-1 is known as the Leontief inverse matrix. Each element bij in the matrix (I-A)-1represents the total amount of product that sector j must provide, which is referred to as the final product coefficient.
The total consumption coefficient is used to analyze the complete consumption demand of the digital publishing industry and its product production on other information industries or products.
Final use analysis consists of two components:The first component is Final Consumption Analysis, which involves examining final consumption through the column structure coefficients of final consumption. The second component is Capital Formation Analysis, which involves analyzing capital formation using the column structure coefficients of capital formation.
The final consumption coefficient refers to the proportion of products from sector i in the total column of consumption item j, usually denoted as kij, expressed as follows:
Here, the final consumption coefficient can be used to analyze the product consumption structure provided by various digital publishing industries and product production for household consumption and public consumption.
The capital formation coefficient refers to the proportion of products from sector i in the total column of capital formation item j,usually denoted as Zij expressed as follows:
Here, the capital formation coefficient can be used to analyze the product consumption structure provided by the digital publishing industry and product production for fixed asset formation and inventory increase.
The digital publishing industry drives the consumption of digital product production, which in turn stimulates changes in the economic structure and growth in the overall economy. Using the relationship between Shanghai’s digital publishing industry and the digital economy as a case study, this section reveals the promoting effects and outcomes of the digital publishing industry on the digital economy. The main aspects are as follows:
Firstly, the contribution of Shanghai’s digital publishing industry has been progressively increasing. In 2022, the total output of Shanghai’s digital publishing industry grew by 10.23% compared to the previous year. The value added increased by 11.56%, total assets rose by 0.21%, and profit surged by 10.11%. The growth rate of the digital publishing industry’s total output surpassed the overall economic growth rate of the city by 2.44 percentage points.
Secondly, the clustering of Shanghai’s digital publishing industry has become increasingly evident. The development of the industry is primarily concentrated in two key sectors: digital publishing product production and digital publishing support services. The total output of digital publishing product production increased by 18.55%, while the total output of digital publishing support services grew by 6.73%. Together, these two sectors accounted for 98.25% of the total output of Shanghai’s digital publishing industry.
Thirdly, the core businesses of Shanghai’s digital publishing industry have experienced steady growth. Statistics show that in 2022, the total output of databases increased by 72.31%, online video grew by 45.26%, online game development and production rose by 33.92%, digital education expanded by 31.16%, and digital journal publishing saw an increase of 28.84%.
In 2022, there was a very significant correlation between digital publishing products and various sectors of the digital economy in Shanghai. Among these sectors, the digital carrier manufacturing industry had the highest direct consumption and the closest technological and economic ties, with a direct consumption coefficient of 0.7125. In contrast, digital cultural activities had the smallest direct consumption coefficient, at only 0.0088.
Comparative analysis of direct consumption across various digital industries and overall direct consumption indicates a close technological and economic linkage between digital industries. The sector with the highest proportion of direct consumption is the digital carrier manufacturing industry, accounting for 91.12%. This is followed by the digital carrier service industry, which accounts for 41.02%. The sector with the lowest proportion of direct consumption is digital cultural activities, at 2.87%.
From the perspective of the specific conditions of various sectors within the digital publishing industry, the direct consumption correlation between Shanghai’s digital publishing industry and the digital economy sectors in 2022 exhibits the following characteristics:
The digital carrier manufacturing industry has a strong direct consumption correlation with various sectors of the digital publishing industry.
The digital carrier manufacturing industry has a direct consumption correlation rate of 0.7125 with sectors of the digital economy. Within this context, the sector with the highest direct correlation is the digital carrier manufacturing industry itself, with a direct consumption coefficient of 0.5633. This is followed by the digital entity operations sector, while the digital product production sector has the lowest direct consumption coefficient. The proportion of industry consumption for the digital carrier manufacturing sector is 88.53%. This indicates that the digital carrier manufacturing industry is characterized by a strong and high concentration of consumption correlation with the digital economy, demonstrating a significant influence and pull on the consumption patterns of other sectors within the digital publishing industry.
The direct consumption correlation between the digital entity operations sector and various sectors of the digital publishing industry is not significant.
The direct consumption correlation rate between the digital entity operations sector and various sectors of the digital economy is only 0.0289, indicating a non-significant correlation (typically, a direct consumption coefficient below 0.1 is considered very weak; below 0.05 is considered non-significant, as will be referenced). Among the sectors, the highest direct correlation is with the sector itself, while the lowest is with the digital product production sector. The consumption proportion for the digital entity operations sector is 12.98%, reflecting a low concentration of consumption within the digital economy. Therefore, it is evident that the consumption correlation between the digital entity operations sector and various sectors of the digital publishing industry is not significant.
The consumption correlation between the online operations sector and various sectors of the digital publishing industry is weak.
The direct consumption correlation rate between the online operations sector and other digital industries is 0.1314, meaning that for every unit of product produced by the online operations sector, an average of 0.134 units of products from other digital industries are consumed. Among the sectors, the highest direct correlation is with the digital carrier manufacturing industry, which still represents a very weak correlation, with a direct consumption coefficient of only 0.0848. The second highest is the online operations sector itself, while the lowest is the digital product production sector. The consumption proportion within the digital industry is 33.87%, indicating a relatively good concentration of consumption. Thus, while the consumption connection between the online operations sector and various sectors of the digital publishing industry is weak, the concentration of digital industry consumption is relatively good.
Analysis reveals that the digital publishing industry chain in Shanghai involves participants from 36 major sectors of the national economy. Notably, consumption in digital economy industries and products has increased, with significant growth observed in digital products such as network services, computers, and monitors. In 2022, the consumption of digital product carriers and network services in Shanghai contributed significantly to the entire digital publishing industry chain, accounting for 9.67% of the total output of the digital publishing sector.
Extension of the Digital Publishing Industry Chain into the Digital Economy Sector
Among the 141 product sectors classified in Shanghai’s national economic input-output table, the digital publishing industry chain involves 114 sectors. This expansion of the industry chain has notably lengthened, extending productive consumption activities in the digital economy to 28 sectors, an increase of 19 sectors compared to the traditional publishing industry. The majority of these newly included sectors are related to the digital economy or digital product sectors.
The main entities in digital publishing include authors, publishers, technology providers, network operators, terminal providers, and readers. However, the participants involved in the industry are far more complex. For example, manufacturers of reading hardware, various digital technology companies, and numerous websites are also integral to the ecosystem. Within the industry chain involved in digital production, transmission, and preservation, participants can be both singular and independent as well as diverse and overlapping. Particularly, the characteristics of digital carriers have greatly extended the digital publishing industry’s chain into the digital economy sectors.
High Value-Added Rate of the Digital Publishing Industry Chain
In 2022, the overall value-added rate of the digital products industry in Shanghai reached 54.42%, significantly surpassing the general value-added rate for all sectors. Within the digital publishing industry chain, five out of six types of products, excluding digital product carrier manufacturing and related services, exhibit value-added rates substantially higher than the city’s overall rate of 43.42%.
This demonstrates that the value-added rate of the digital publishing industry chain in Shanghai exceeds the average level observed across all sectors (see Table 1 and Picture 1).
Analysis of the Value-Added Rate of the Digital Publishing Industry Chain in Shanghai, 2022
| Industry | Value-Added /% | Industry | Value-Added /% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38.86 | 51.13 | ||
| 39.57 | 51.13 | ||
| 42.33 | 51.13 | ||
| 44.15 | 51.13 | ||
| 45.64 | 53.62 | ||
| 45.79 | 54.14 | ||
| 46.84 | 57.15 | ||
| 48.36 | 62.99 | ||
| 50.18 | 63.56 | ||
| 50.91 | 54.42 |
Analysis of the Value-Added Rate of the Digital Publishing Industry Chain in Shanghai, 2022
As shown in Table 2, there exists a very close and complete consumption correlation between digital publishing products and digital industry sectors in Shanghai in 2022. Among these sectors, the digital industry with the highest complete consumption coefficient is the digital carrier manufacturing industry, with a coefficient of 2.0768. Conversely, the digital cultural activities sector has the lowest complete consumption coefficient, at only 0.0394.
Analysis of the complete consumption coefficient of the digital publishing industry in Shanghai in 2022
| Name | Digital Carrier Manufacturing Industry | Digital Entity Operations | Network Operations | Digital carrier services | Digital product production | Digital cultural activities |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.9167 | 0.0177 | 0.2708 | 0.3068 | 0.0919 | 0.0261 | |
| 0.1538 | 0.0289 | 0.0249 | 0.0441 | 0.0658 | 0.0107 | |
| 0.0050 | 0.0045 | 0.0488 | 0.0164 | 0.0028 | 0.0017 | |
| 0.0134 | 0.0031 | 0.0093 | 0.1359 | 0.0047 | 0.0029 | |
| 0.0003 | 0.0005 | 0.0013 | 0.0017 | 0.0272 | 0.0003 | |
| 0.0011 | 0.0013 | 0.0029 | 0.0027 | 0.0035 | 0.0011 | |
| 2.0768 | 0.0548 | 0.3598 | 0.5078 | 0.1965 | 0.0394 | |
| 2.8894 | 0.4529 | 1.1227 | 1.6469 | 1.0527 | 0.6954 |
The comparative analysis of complete consumption and overall consumption across various digital industry sectors reveals that the concentration of complete production needs is relatively high within these industries. The digital sector with the highest concentration of complete consumption is the digital carrier manufacturing industry, with a complete consumption ratio of 73.13%. This is followed by the digital network operations sector, with a complete consumption ratio of 33.69%. The digital cultural activities sector has the lowest concentration, at 6.31%, indicating a relatively low level of digital consumption concentration in this sector.
Based on the detailed examination of complete consumption across various sectors of the digital publishing industry, the correlation between the digital publishing sector and the broader digital industry in Shanghai in 2022 exhibits the following characteristics.
The digital carrier manufacturing industry demonstrates a strong correlation with the complete consumption demands of the digital industry, characterized by a high degree of concentration.
The digital carrier manufacturing industry has an industry-wide complete correlation degree of 2.0768 with the digital industry, meaning that for each unit of digital carrier manufacturing product produced, 2.0768 units of products from other digital industries are fully consumed. Among these, the highest complete consumption demand is for itself, with a complete consumption coefficient of 1.9167. The next highest is the digital physical operations industry, with a complete consumption coefficient of 0.1538, and the lowest is the digital product manufacturing industry, with a sectoral exhaustion ratio of 73.13%. This indicates a high degree of concentration in digital industry consumption. It is evident that the digital carrier manufacturing industry exhibits a strong correlation with a highly concentrated demand for complete consumption within the digital industry.
The digital physical operations industry shows a negligible correlation with the complete consumption of the digital industry, with a low degree of concentration.
The industry-wide complete correlation rate of digital physical operations with the digital industry is only 0.0548, indicating a very low and weak correlation. This means that for each unit of digital physical operations product produced, only 0.0548 units of products from other digital industries are fully consumed. Among these, the highest complete correlation is with itself, followed by the digital physical operations industry, and the lowest is with the digital product manufacturing industry. The proportion of complete consumption for the digital physical operations industry is also relatively low, at 11.76%, reflecting a low degree of concentration. Therefore, it is evident that the digital physical operations industry shows a negligible correlation with the complete consumption of the digital industry and is characterized by low concentration.
The complete consumption relationship between the network operations industry and the digital industry is a weak correlation, but with a high degree of concentration.
The industry-wide complete correlation rate between the network operations industry and other digital industries is 0.3598. This means that for each unit of network operations product produced, 0.3598 units of products from other digital industries are fully consumed. Among these, the highest complete correlation is with the digital carrier manufacturing industry, though it is also a very weak correlation, with a complete consumption coefficient of only 0.2708. This is followed by the network operations industry itself, with the lowest being the digital product manufacturing industry. However, the proportion of complete consumption for the network operations industry is relatively high, reaching 31.83%, indicating a significant concentration of complete consumption within the digital industry. Therefore, while the complete consumption relationship between the network operations industry and the digital industry is a weak correlation, it exhibits a high degree of concentration.
From a global perspective on the development of the digital industry, digital consumption encompasses various domains such as production consumption, lifestyle consumption, and management consumption. It includes a range of digital services, such as voice communication, internet data and access services, digital content and application services, and software. Additionally, it covers various digital products like smartphones, tablets, and smart TVs. The scope also extends to new digital service models that indirectly stimulate consumption, such as e-commerce and cloud services based on digital platforms.
The proportion of residents’ consumption in the digital economy continues to expand
According to statistics, in 2022, digital consumption among residents in Shanghai was relatively high (see Table 3), amounting to 15,071.40 RMB, which represents 18.22% of disposable income. Among this, telecommunications services accounted for 9.34%, and cultural, educational, and entertainment expenditures accounted for 8.44%. This indicates that a significant portion of Shanghai residents’ disposable income is allocated to digital consumption, with telecommunications services being the primary expenditure.
Analysis of Digital Consumption Levels Among Residents in Shanghai in 2022
| index | Culture, education and entertainment | Telecommunications services | total | Disposable Income of Residents (RMB) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6691.59 | 7667.83 | 14448.17 | 88748 | |
| 7.54 | 8.64 | 16.28 | 100 | |
| 3849.27 | 4312.99 | 8174.57 | 41037 | |
| 9.38 | 10.51 | 19.92 | 100 | |
| 6981.48 | 7725.95 | 15071.40 | 82719 | |
| 8.44 | 9.34 | 18.22 | 100 |
Based on the total digital consumption of residents in Shanghai (see Table 4), the total digital consumption of all residents in Shanghai reached 349.888 billion RMB in 2022, accounting for 7.81% of the city’s GDP. The majority of this consumption is from urban residents, with a total of 284.928 billion RMB, representing 6.36% of Shanghai’s GDP. Rural residents’ digital consumption totaled 64.960 billion RMB, accounting for 1.45% of the city’s GDP.
Analysis of Total Digital Consumption Among Residents in Shanghai in 2022
| index | Culture,education and entertainment | Telecommunications Services | Total | Percentage(%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1404.13 | 1448.01 | 2849.28 | 81.43 | |
| 316.81 | 332.79 | 649.60 | 18.57 | |
| 1724.25 | 1778.13 | 3498.88 | 100 | |
| 49.28 | 50.82 | 100 |
In terms of the urban-rural structure of digital consumption, the total digital consumption of urban residents in 2022 was significantly higher, being 4.39 times that of rural residents.
The concentration of the digital economy consumption industry is high.
According to national classification standards, the digital economy consumption sectors mainly include four categories: telecommunications services, e-commerce, home appliances and entertainment, and communication equipment. In terms of the composition of digital economy consumption products across society, the total digital economy consumption in Shanghai in 2022 amounted to 877.632 billion RMB, accounting for 19.58% of the city’s GDP.
In terms of the structure of product sectors, telecommunications services have the highest consumption total, amounting to 553.961 billion RMB, which constitutes 63.12% of the entire digital economy consumption product sectors. In contrast, communication equipment has the lowest proportion, at 1.98%. This indicates that, in 2022, the digital economy consumption sectors in Shanghai were predominantly focused on telecommunications services.
Based on the above empirical analysis, the following conclusions are drawn:
The penetration of digital publishing into digital economy sectors is continuously deepening.
The penetration of digital publishing into the digital economy sectors is continuously deepening, with the industry chain driving 27 productive sectors within the digital economy. There is a clear direct consumption correlation between digital publishing products and the sectors of the digital economy, and the expansion effect of the digital publishing industry is highly significant. The value-added rate of digital publishing across its various sectors is higher than the overall societal value-added rate, and its contribution to the total digital economy surpasses that of other sectors.
The digital publishing industry has a significant impact on digital economy consumption.
Digital publishing has driven a continuous expansion in the proportion of residential digital economy consumption, accounting for 7.81% of Shanghai’s GDP in 2022. The concentration of digital economy consumption sectors is high, with telecommunications services making up 63.12% of all digital economy product consumption. There are clear consumption preferences within the digital economy: rural residents mainly focus on digital entity operations and digital carrier manufacturing, urban residents primarily engage in digital entity operations and digital network operations, while government consumption is concentrated in digital product production, entity operations, and digital carrier services.
The digital publishing industry has promoted the development of multiple sectors.
Digital publishing not only promotes the development of multiple industrial sectors through its direct contributions but also fosters deep integration between the digital economy and technological innovation through its close ties with the tech industry. As the digital publishing industry continues to grow, its demand for technologies such as big data processing, artificial intelligence, and cloud computing increases, driving the coordinated development of related tech industries. For instance, the production and distribution of digital publishing content require robust technical support, spurring advancements in technological research and the upgrade of communication equipment. 1