外资管制放松能否激励企业绿色创新?

Will Relaxing Foreign Investment Restrictions Encourage Corporate Green Innovation?

在高水平对外开放条件下构建绿色创新体系是推进中国式现代化的重要一环。学界对外资管制放松能否激励东道国绿色创新存在争议“,污染光环”假说与“污染天堂”假说各执一词。本文以中国工业企业为研究样本,利用《国际专利分类绿色清单》构造中国工业企业绿色创新水平指标,考察外资管制放松对中国企业绿色创新的影响。研究发现,外资管制放松显著促进中国工业企业的绿色创新,佐证了“污染光环”假说。机制分析表明,外资管制放松引致国际绿色技术溢出,为中国企业绿色创新提供绿色技术;与此同时,涉污加剧本土企业在外资流入后的生存压力,倒逼东道国企业借助绿色创新进行针对性应对。进一步研究发现,产业关联将扩大外资管制放松对企业绿色创新的影响范围,配套环境规制与强化企业吸收能力将放大外资管制放松对企业绿色创新的促进作用。本文为探寻高水平对外开放下如何加速绿色技术创新,提供了基于企业层面的经验证据和政策启示。

As China’s economy transitions from extensive development to the new paradigm of“innovation,coordination,greenness,openness,and sharing”,The establishment of a market‑oriented green technology innovation system holds significant importance for the development of a Chinese‑style green modernization and the achievement of high‑quality economic growth.This study utilizes the Chinese industrial enterprise database and the Chinese patent database to gauge the level of green innovation in Chinese enterprises through the measurement of green patents.It examines the impact of relaxed foreign investment regulations,emphasizing a“market orientation”on the green innovation capabilities of Chinese enterprises.The findings of this study provide evidence in support of the“pollution halo”hypothesis,demonstrating that the relaxation of foreign investment regulations significantly promotes the level of green innovation in Chinese enterprises.Subdividing patent types reveals that the relaxation of foreign investment regulations positively impacts both corporate green invention patents and corporate green utility model patents.The spillover effects of green technology and the imperative effects on survival constitute two pivotal operative mechanisms.Mechanistic analysis indicates that the relaxation of foreign capital controls accelerates the international spillover of green technology and places indigenous polluting enterprises under more formidable survival pressures.This compels host‑country enterprises to effectively respond through targeted measures utilizing green innovation.Furthermore,this study focuses on the importance of industry linkages,policy support,and enhanced absorptive capacity in the process of foreign investment regulations impacting green innovation in enterprises.The research discovers that industry linkages expand the scope of the influence of foreign investment regulations on green innovation in enterprises,as the relaxation of foreign investment regulations in the upstream energy conservation,environmental protection,and clean industries stimulates green innovation in downstream industries.The relaxation of foreign investment regulations,coupled with the improvement of environmental regulations,plays a more significant role in promoting green innovation in enterprises.Enhancing absorptive capacity amplifies the promotion effect of relaxed foreign investment regulations on green innovation in enterprises.This paper provides strategic recommendations for advancing corporate‑driven green innovation technologies within the context of the“dual carbon”landscape.These recommendations are structured around three key dimensions:Encouraging foreign direct investment to facilitate the inflow of advanced international green technologies;formulating a comprehensive suite of policies and refining environmental regulatory systems;and enhancing corporate absorptive capacity while nurturing a philosophy of green development.The paper’s marginal contributions are as follows:Firstly,this article addresses the contentious issue of the relationship between foreign capital inflows and host‑country green innovation by constructing a green innovation indicator for Chinese industrial enterprises from 2000 to 2010.Utilizing a substantial volume of micro‑level corporate data,the study investigates the micro‑mechanisms through which the relaxation of foreign capital regulations influences corporate green innovation.It tackles this issue from two perspectives:the international spillover effects of green technology and the survival pressures stemming from changes in the external market,shedding light on the micro‑level mechanisms underlying the impact of the relaxation of foreign capital regulations on corporate green innovation.This endeavor contributes to a more accurate understanding of the precise relationship between the relaxation of foreign investment regulations and host country green innovation.Secondly,beyond focusing solely on the impact of intra‑industry technology spillovers on corporate green innovation,the paper also pays heed to the cross‑industry green innovation incentives generated by the relaxation of foreign investment regulations,thereby enriching the existing discourse on the interplay between foreign inflows and green technological innovation.Thirdly,to augment the policy relevance and practical significance of research conclusions,the paper further explores the regulatory effects of absorptive capacity and environmental policies.It furnishes empirical evidence grounded in the realm of enterprises,guiding efforts aimed at catalyzing green technological innovation.