信息基础设施建设能使“减排”与“增效”兼得吗?——基于绿色技术创新视角

Can Creating Information Infrastructure Achieve“Emission Reduction”and“Efficiency Enhancement”Simultaneously?Based on the Perspective of Green Technology Innovation

以信息基础设施为基础的数字经济已成为中国绿色经济发展的新动能。本文将“宽带中国”战略视为信息基础设施建设的外生政策冲击,基于2011-2020年276个城市的面板数据,运用双重差分模型考察“宽带中国”示范城市建设对城市碳排放强度及效率的影响及其内在机制,并从技术含量及专利靶向两个维度进一步讨论绿色技术创新的差异化作用机制。主要结论如下:(1)“宽带中国”示范城市建设能够显著降低城市碳排放强度、提升碳排放效率,从而实现城市“减排”与“增效”。(2)绿色技术创新是信息基础设施建设实现城市“减排”与“增效”的重要渠道。相较于碳排放效率,绿色技术创新在“减排”方面具有完全中介效应,是实现城市碳排放总量下降的关键抓手。(3)信息基础设施建设通过激励实质性创新活动及源头管控方面绿色创新实现了城市“减排”与“增效”兼得,策略性创新仅在减少城市碳排放总量方面发挥作用,但应警惕末端治理绿色技术创新对城市碳排放效率的不利影响。(4)“宽带中国”示范城市建设通过诱发城市实质性绿色创新以及源头管控方面绿色创新推动了资源型城市、工业化城市绿色转型。本文研究结论为中国在数字经济发展过程中,因地制宜地利用“有效投资”推动绿色创新、不断提升经济增长效率提供了经验证据和政策启示。

The information infrastructure-based digital economy has emerged as a new engine for China's development of its green economy.This paper views the“Broadband China”strategy as an exogenous policy impact on information infrastructure construction.It uses a DID model based on panel data from 276 cities from 201l to 2020 to examine the effects of“Broadband China”pilots on urban carbon emission intensity and efficiency and its internal mechanism.It also discusses the unique mechanism of green technology innovation from two perspectives:technology content and patent targeting.The preliminary results are as follows:First,building“Broadband China”demonstration cities can considerably lower the intensity of carbon emissions and raise the efficiency of carbon emissions,realizing the“emission reduction”and“efficiency enhancement”of cities.Second,green technology innovation is an important channel for information infrastructure construction to achieve urban“emission reduction”and“efficiency enhancement”.Compared to carbon emission efficiency,green technology innovation has a full mediating effect on“emission reduction”and is the key to reducing the overall amount of carbon emissions in cities.Third,the construction of information infrastructure has achieved both“emission reduction”and“efficiency enhancement”in cities by incentivizing substantive innovation activities and green innovation in source control.Strategic innovation only plays a role in reducing the total carbon emissions of cities,but it is important to be vigilant about the detrimental effects of end-of-pipe green technology innovation on the effectiveness of urban carbon emissions.Finally,the construction of the“Broadband China”demonstration city has promoted the green transformation of resource-based and industrialized cities by encouraging substantial green innovation in cities and green innovation in source control.The research conclusion of this paper offers empirical evidence and policy inspiration for China's use of“effective investment”to promote green innovation and continuously enhance the economic growth efficiency in the process of digital economy development.