Renewable energy technology innovation and urban green economy efficiency.

Green economy efficiency is the core-factor of urban economic and environmental development. As a sustainable instruments, renewable energy technology innovation (RETI) not only reflects the low energy-consumption, but also promotes the reasonable and balanced relationship between resources utilization and urban economy. In this regard, this paper selects China's cities to investigate the effect of RETI on urban green economy efficiency from 2004 to 2020 based on theoretical analyses and previous studies. The paper finds that RETI can promote urban green economy efficiency significantly, passing a series of robustness test, and its effect has connected differently with the factor of regional factor, cleaner production level and environment pollution. Meanwhile, RETI promotes urban green economy efficiency by reducing CO2 emission and polluting manufacturing agglomeration. To date, this study has discovered the green economy efficiency improvement effects of RETI, providing theoretical basis and practical recommendations for government, technological agency and urban industries.

Can greater openness improve green economy efficiency of countries along the Belt and Road Initiative?

Openness is the core concept of the Belt and Road initiative (BRI), which plays a significant role in promoting the sustainable economic development of countries along the BRI. This study uses the entropy method to measure openness based on six dimensions: trade, investment, finance, tourism, technology, and information. Simultaneously, a super-SBM model with undesired output is proposed to measure green economy efficiency (GEE). Using the panel data of 66 countries along the BRI from 2008 to 2019, we empirically examine the impact of openness on GEE. The results are as follows: (1) The openness level of countries along the BRI is generally increasing, but the relative differences between countries tend to widen. (2) Openness has a significant U-shaped nonlinear effect on GEE, and the conclusion is still valid after considering the robustness test; (3) The spatial econometric model shows that openness not only affects the GEE of the local country, but also has a spillover effect on neighboring countries. Therefore, we believe that BRI countries should strengthen policy communication, break down border barriers, actively promote the orderly flow and diffusion of openness elements, and pay attention to the quantity and quality of openness development, which is key to the high-quality construction of the BRI.

Does digital inclusive finance affect the urban green economic efficiency? New evidence from the spatial econometric analysis of 284 cities in China.

Digital inclusive finance has an essential impact on improving the urban green economy efficiency by demonstrating environmental friendliness in agglomerating factors and promoting the flow of factors. Based on the panel data of 284 cities in China from 2011 to 2020, this paper uses the super-efficiency SBM model with undesirable outputs to measure the urban green economy efficiency. Then, the fixed effect model and spatial econometric model of panel data are used to empirically test the impact of digital inclusive finance on urban green economic efficiency and its spatial spillover effect, and the heterogeneity analysis is carried out. This paper draws the following conclusions. (1) The average value of urban green economic efficiency of 284 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2020 is 0.5916, showing a "high in the east and low in the west." In terms of time, it showed a rising trend year by year. (2) Digital financial inclusion and urban green economy efficiency have a high spatial correlation, both showing "high-high" and "low-low" agglomeration characteristics. (3) Digital inclusive finance significantly impacts urban green economic efficiency, especially in the eastern region. (4) The impact of digital inclusive finance on urban green economic efficiency has a spatial spillover effect. In the eastern and central regions, digital inclusive finance will inhibit the improvement of urban green economic efficiency in adjacent cities. In contrast, it will promote urban green economy efficiency in the western regions in adjacent cities. (5) The coverage and depth of digital inclusive finance significantly affect the urban green economy efficiency, while the level of digitization has yet to show a significant effect. This paper puts forward some suggestions and references for promoting the coordinated development of digital inclusive finance in various regions and improving urban green economic efficiency.

Pollution heaven or pollution halo? Assessing the role of heterogeneous environmental regulation in the impact of foreign direct investment on green economic efficiency.

As the main engine of the global economy, China has been attracting increasing foreign direct investment (FDI) since the 1980s. The frequent occurrence of pollution incidents by multinational companies and the continuous deterioration of the environment have prompted China to attach importance to environmental regulations and attempt to avoid the potential pollution heaven effect of FDI on green development. To assess the effectiveness of these environmental regulations, this paper investigates the moderating effect of environmental regulation, in particular, the heterogeneous environmental regulatory tools, on the relationship between FDI and green economic efficiency. In addition, the spatial performance of these moderating effects is examined through the spatial Durbin model (SDM), using China's provincial panel data from 2004 to 2018. The results show that environmental regulation has an overall positive moderating effect, exacerbating the pollution heaven effect of FDI on green economic efficiency. In the meantime, the moderating effects of heterogeneous environmental regulations are obviously different; i.e., command-and-control and public-participation-based environmental regulations have positive moderating effects, while market-based environmental regulation has a negative moderating effect. In addition, in terms of spatial performance, the market-based environmental regulation has a positive spillover effect, thereby promoting green economic efficiency in surrounding regions, which is contrary to command-and-control and public-participation-based environmental regulations. Based on the above findings, this paper makes some recommendations for policymakers.

The impact of public health events on green economy efficiency in the context of environmental regulation.

Public health crises have become one of the greatest threats to sustainable global economic development. It is therefore important to explore the impact of public health events on green economic efficiency. However, few studies have specifically examined the relationship between public health security and green economic efficiency. Based on the relevant data of 30 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2019, this paper explores the impact of public health on green economic efficiency by establishing a four-stage SBM-DEA model to construct green economic efficiency indicators and using a panel model. A moderating effect model is established to explore the moderating effect of environmental regulation on the impact of public health on green economic efficiency. In addition, this paper examines the heterogeneity of public health impact on green economic efficiency in terms of geographic location, carbon pilot, and transportation level. It is found that, first, public health events have a significant hindering effect on green economic efficiency. Second, environmental regulation has a significant moderating effect on the impact of public health events on green economic efficiency. Third, the impact of public health events on green economic efficiency changes from hindering to facilitating as the intensity of environmental regulation increases. Fourth, the impact of public health events on green economic efficiency is heterogeneous in terms of geographic location, carbon pilot, and transportation level. The above studies have implications for how to balance economic development and environmental protection in case of a public safety event.

Does Human Capital Matter for China's Green Growth?-Examination Based on Econometric Model and Machine Learning Methods.

To tackle the increasingly severe environmental challenges, including climate change, we should pay more attention to green growth (GG), a path to realize sustainability. Human capital (HC) has been considered a crucial driving factor for developing countries to move towards GG, but the impact and mechanisms for emerging economies to achieve GG need to be further discussed. To bridge this gap, this paper investigates the relation between HC and GG in theory and demonstration perspective. It constructs a systematic theoretical framework for their relationship. Then, it uses a data envelopment analysis (DEA) model based on the non-radial direction distance function (NDDF) to measure the GG performance of China's 281 prefecture level cities from 2011 to 2019. Ultimately, it empirically tests the hypothesis by using econometric model and LightGBM machine learning (ML) algorithm. The empirical results indicate that: (1) There is a U-shaped relationship between China's HC and GG. Green innovation and industrial upgrading are transmission channels in the process of HC affecting GG. (2) Given other factors affecting GG, HC and economic growth contribute equally to GG (17%), second only to city size (21%). (3) China's HC's impact on GG is regionally imbalanced and has city size heterogeneity.

Corporate Co-Agglomeration and Green Economy Efficiency in China.

This paper uses panel OLS, IV, and system GMM methods to empirically study the effects of manufacturing and producer service corporate co-agglomeration on green economy efficiency (GEE) in China. Chinese panel data from 2000 to 2019 are collected to assess the GEE and co-agglomeration degrees. The regression results show that there is an "inverted U-shaped" relationship between co-agglomeration and GEE. However, regional heterogeneity is found in the effects of corporate co-agglomeration on GEE. The mediating analysis indicates that corporate co-agglomeration could increase GEE through business entrepreneurship and innovation entrepreneurship. Variables such as transportation infrastructure, human capital, foreign direct investment, and environmental regulations are also found to have an elevating effect on GEE, whereas local fiscal expenditure on environmental protection has little effect. The findings in this paper indicate that entrepreneurship plays an important role in the process of co-agglomeration impacting GEE which differs in different regions and thus provide references for corporate and regional sustainable development.

Does the National Credit Demonstration Policy Affect Urban Green Economy Efficiency? Evidence from the Yangtze River Delta Region of China.

A more scientific green economy efficiency indicator is constructed based on OH (2010), and a multiperiod spatial DID model is used to examine the impact of national credit demonstration policies on urban green economy efficiency in a sample of cities above the prefecture level in the Yangtze River Delta. The study confirms the following: (1) The national credit demonstration policy makes a significant contribution to the green economic efficiency of cities, and it is conducive to strengthening awareness of the rule of law in the market to regulate market order. (2) The demand for credit regulation in coastal areas has increased under the new development pattern, and the national credit demonstration policy has effectively enhanced green economy efficiency through institutional supply. (3) Under the national credit demonstration policy, the subprovincial level and above can mobilise more resources for policy refinement and support, reducing transaction costs and improving the efficiency of the green economy. (4) The impact of the national credit demonstration policy on the efficiency of Zhejiang's green economy is more obvious; but, under the overall framework of the Yangtze River Delta, the policy has a more prominent role in promoting green economy efficiency in other provinces. Policy insights are as follows: (1) Different cities have different degrees of impact on the efficiency of the green economy from the national credit demonstration policy, and they should implement differentiated measures based on regional heterogeneity; (2) regulating the use of administrative resources and avoiding undue administrative intervention are important prerequisites for promoting regional integration to enhance the efficiency of the green economy; and (3) strengthening interprovincial credit policy synergies can help to alleviate administrative distortions of policy implementation and enhance the efficiency of the regional green economy.

How to design regional characteristics to improve green economic efficiency: a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis approach.

Developing green economy has become the focus of governments, scholars, and entrepreneurs all over the world; however, the realization path of green economic efficiency for the regions under the interaction of multiple factors has still been uncertain. This study takes 30 provincial-level regions in China as the empirical object and applies a new method of fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis to explore the configuration of conditions for achieving green economic efficiency, which effectively improves the link between theory and practice. This study reveals that the improvement of green economy efficiency is the result of the joint action of multiple factors, and one factor in isolation is not enough for explaining it. Besides, there exist three equivalent paths to achieve high green economic efficiency; therefore, regions can design the most appropriate promotion strategy according to the determined paths. The result shows that high marketization is the core condition for achieving high green economy efficiency. Among the three paths, the combination of environmental regulation, urbanization, marketization, and technological innovation has the highest unique coverage, which alone explains how most regions have achieved high green economic efficiency. Third, four paths for achieving low green economy efficiency have been identified in this study, which provides lessons for regional governments to avoid the decline in green economy efficiency. And specially, the combination of high urbanization, high environment regulation, and high technological innovation can lead to low green economy efficiency because of low marketization. The conclusion improves the theory of green development and provides a practical reference for the regional government to develop green economy.

Modeling the role of environmental regulations in regional green economy efficiency of China: Empirical evidence from super efficiency DEA-Tobit model.

This paper used the panel data of various regions in China from 2007 to 2018 and constructs a green economic efficiency measurement index system. Following this, the super-efficient DEA model has been employed to measure the efficiency of China's green economy. Then, the Tobit model is used to verify the environmental regulation influence on efficiency of China's regional green economy extent and direction. The results show that: (1) in 2007-2018, the green economy efficiency level of China's eastern, central and western regions is on the rise, accompanied by more obvious spatial differences. The green economy efficiency basically shows the spatial differentiation characteristics of the highest in the eastern region and the lowest in the western region. (2) From the national perspective, environmental regulation influence on efficiency of green economy presents a "U" shaped curve that promotes and then suppresses. At the eastern and national levels, environmental regulation has the same characteristics for green economy efficiency, and both exhibit U-shaped curve characteristics. Whereas, in the central and western regions shows negative correlation. (3) From the perspective of control variables, there are significant differences in variables at the national and regional levels. Finally, the study concludes with some policy suggestion for future green development and the formulation of environmental regulations in China.