Impact of heterogeneous local government competition and green technology innovation on economic low-carbon transition: new insights from China
Abstract
Low-carbon transformation of the economy is the inevitable orientation of socialism with Chinese characteristics to high-quality development in the new era, while the Chinese decentralized development model determines that the competition of local governments in China is an important factor influencing the green technological innovation on low-carbon transformation of the economy. How to achieve coordinated economic growth and ecological environment has become a prob-lem for local governments. Data from a Chinese provincial panel covering the years 2007–2019 is used to investigate the effects of heterogeneous local government competition (Comp), namely, economic, ecological and service competitions on economic low-carbon transition, and moderating effects of heterogeneous government competition and green technology innovation (GTECH) on the low-carbon economic transition (LCT). The results reveal that there are substantial disparities in the consequences of heterogeneous government competition on low-carbon economic transition (LCT). Among them, economic competition significantly dampens economic low-carbon transition (LCT), and ecological competition and service competition significantly boost economic low-carbon transi-tion (LCT). After performing robustness checks, these results continue to be strongly convincing. The study of moderating effects shows that economic competition can dampen the positive influence of green technology innovation (GTECH) to the economic low-carbon transition (LCT). However, ecological competition and service competition facilitate the promoting effect of green technology innovation on economic low-carbon transition (LCT).
First published online 14 March 2024
Keyword : low-carbon economic transition, green technology innovation, heterogeneous, local government
How to Cite
Liu, G., Ge, W., Yang, X., Razzaq, A., Su, X., Ran, Q., & Xu, Y. (2024). Impact of heterogeneous local government competition and green technology innovation on economic low-carbon transition: new insights from China. Technological and Economic Development of Economy, 1-23. https://doi.org/10.3846/tede.2024.20776
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Li, X., Guo, F., Xu, Q., Wang, S., & Huang, H. (2023b). Strategic or substantive innovation? The effect of government environmental punishment on enterprise green technology innovation. Sustainable Development, 31(5), 3365–3386. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2590
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Liu, X., Cifuentes-Faura, J., Zhao, S., & Wang, L. (2023a). Government environmental attention and carbon emissions governance: Firm-level evidence from China. Economic Analysis and Policy, 80, 121–142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2023.07.016
Liu, X., Li, H., Sun, Y., & Wang, C. A. (2022b). High-speed railway and urban productivity disparities. Growth and Change, 53(2), 680–701. https://doi.org/10.1111/grow.12602
Liu, X., Wang, C., Wu, H., Yang, C., & Albitar, K. (2023b). The impact of the new energy demonstration city construction on energy consumption intensity: Exploring the sustainable potential of China’s firms. Energy, 283, Article 128716. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2023.128716
Lv, C., Shao, C., & Lee, C. C. (2021). Green technology innovation and financial development: Do environmental regulation and innovation output matter? Energy Economics, 98, Article 105237. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eneco.2021.105237
Manello, A. (2017). Productivity growth, environmental regulation and win–win opportunities: The case of chemical industry in Italy and Germany. European Journal of Operational Research, 262(2), 733–743. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2017.03.058
Miao, N., Sharif, A., Ozturk, I., & Razzaq, A. (2023). How do the exploitation of natural resources and fiscal policy affect green growth? Moderating role of ecological governance in G7 countries. Resources Policy, 85(A), Article 103911. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resourpol.2023.103911
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Nie, Y., Wan, K., Wu, F., Zou, W., & Chang, T. (2021). Local government competition, development zones and urban green innovation: An empirical study of Chinese cities. Applied Economics Letters. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504851.2021.1942426
Norberg-Bohm, V. (1999). Stimulating “green” technological innovation: An analysis of alternative policy mechanisms. Policy Sciences, 32(1), 13–38. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1004384913598
Oprea, A. (2022). Adam Smith on political judgment: Revisiting the political theory of the Wealth of Nations. The Journal of Politics, 84(1), 18–32. https://doi.org/10.1086/715249
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