The technological attributes of urban digital infrastructure (UDI) are transforming labor skill structures in the market, thereby altering changes in skill premiums. This study investigates the relationship between UDI and skill premiums by developing a theoretical model that incorporates both digital and material capital. Using data from the China Labor Force Dynamic Survey and urban statistics, we examine the underlying mechanisms. The findings indicate that UDI exhibits skill-biased technological attributes, thereby increasing the skill premium. UDI development raises the demand for high-skilled labor across both skill-intensive and non-skill-intensive industries, altering the labor skill structure and consequently elevating the skill premium. This effect stems from the complementarity between UDI-related digital capital and high-skilled labor. Compared to material capital, deepening digital capital enables high-skilled labor to contribute more significantly to output.

Against the background of increasing pressure on water environmental protection and regional industrial transformation, water environmental governance (WEG) is jointly shaped by environmental regulation and industrial agglomeration. However, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain insufficiently examined. Based on provincial-level data from China, this study uses fixed-effects models and spatial econometric models to examine the effects of environmental regulation on WEG. The results show a clear threshold pattern. When the environmental regulation index exceeds 0.3, its positive association with WEG begins to emerge. Basin-location analysis indicates that downstream regions may require stronger environmental regulation to improve WEG. Spatial analysis reveals positive spillover effects under both the contiguity weight matrix and the basin-adjacency weight matrix. Mechanism analysis further shows that environmental regulation is negatively associated with WEG through the specialized agglomeration of pollution-intensive industries. It is also positively associated with WEG through upstream and downstream linkage agglomeration in the clean industrial chain. Future research could further explore micro-level mechanisms and cross-regional linkages to provide deeper evidence for improving WEG.