Are cities greener because of innovation?Independent innovation policy and green economic efficiency

The national independent innovation demonstration zone(NIIDZ)is an independent innovation policy that plays a crucial role in implementing strategies.Given the importance of the NIIDZ,this study uses panel data of 278 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2020 and empirically examines the effect and internal mechanism of the NIIDZ on green economic efficiency(GEE)using the difference-in-difference model(DID).The results show that the NIIDZ effectively enhances the growth of GEE,and the results remain valid through several robustness tests,such as year-by-year propensity score matching.The transmission mechanism suggests that the NIIDZ indirectly drives GEE by accelerating scientific and technological investment,promoting talent concentration,and optimizing the industrial structure.Moreover,heterogeneity analysis reveals that the promotion effect of the NIIDZ on GEE is more prominent in the eastern region and high green development level areas.The study’s findings can serve as a reference for China to further utilize the policy effectiveness of the NIIDZ and accelerate the high-quality development of the green economy in the future.

Research on Innovation-Driven Expansion of Regional OFDI: New Evidence From a Business Environment Perspective

This paper investigates the impact of provincial innovation-driven efficiency on the expansion of regional Outward Foreign Direct Investment(OFDI)flows within the context of China’s economy during the period 2011 to 2020 by measuring the innovation-driven efficiency and business environment index using the DEA-Malmquist index and the combined CRITIC weighting method from the new perspective of business environment improvement.The findings reveal that:(a)There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between provincial innovation-driven efficiency and regional OFDI flows.This increase in innovation-driven efficiency can promote OFDI expansion of the region by improving its business environment.(b)The improvement of the business environments plays a significant intermediary and synergistic role in OFDI expansion driven by improved innovation efficiency.(c)The study of regional heterogeneity suggests that the central region enjoys the longest window period in terms of innovation-driven OFDI expansion,followed by the eastern region while the western region has the shortest window period.The improvement of the business environment in the western region is more effective in driving regional OFDI expansion.This conclusion remained true after the robustness test.In conclusion,this paper offers a few policy recommendations that can help Chinese capital of various kinds go global more effectively.

Do smart city policies improve energy efficiency?Evidence from China

To address air pollution and offer a convenient and comfortable living environment,the Chinese government launched a smart city pilot(SCP)project in 2012,accompanied by a comprehensive set of environmental and energy-related laws and regulations.Although academic interest in smart cities has surged,there remains a notable gap in empirical research exploring the economic,environmental,and energy effects of such initiatives.Taking 232 prefecture-level cities from 2003 to 2017 as research subjects,this study measures energy effi‐ciency by using energy consumption per unit of GDP and adopts a difference-in-differences(DID)analysis to investigate the impact of SCPs on energy efficiency.The empirical results indicate that SCPs improved energy efficiency by promoting urban technological innovation capabilities and green total factor productivity,and this effect was more pronounced in cities that were more dependent on traditional fossil fuel energy sources and had more developed fiscal and financial levels.Studying the impact of smart city construction on energy utilization efficiency in developing countries,such as China,is not only significantly enlightening for China’s green and low-carbon transition but also provides reference opinions for constructing smart cities and the path to enhancing energy efficiency in other developing countries.The findings provide valuable insights into the global development of smart cities,urban sustainability,and high-quality economic growth.

Research on the Impact of Digital Finance on Energy Efficiency in China

Digital finance and green technology innovation(GTI)serve as powerful engines for promoting energy efficiency(EE)and economic development.This paper explores the mechanism by which digital finance impacts EE based on panel data from 30 provinces in China spanning from 2011 to 2019.The results demonstrate that digital finance can significantly enhance EE,with a particularly pronounced effect in the eastern region.Through mechanistic analysis,it is evident that GTI serves as the transmission pathway through which digital finance influences EE,accounting for 45.3%of the effect.The policy implication of this study suggests that China should expedite the digitization of financial markets to further harness the development of digital finance,particularly in pursuit of its technological innovation and green,lowcarbon environmental protection effects.

The Relationship between Water Resources Use Efficiency and Scientific and Technological Innovation Level: Case Study of Yangtze River Basin in China

The Yangtze River Basin’s water resource utilization efficiency(WUE)and scientific and technological innovation level(STI)are closely connected,and the comprehension of these relationships will help to improve WUE and promote local economic growth and conservation of water.This study uses 19 provinces and regions along the Yangtze River’s mainstream from 2009 to 2019 as its research objects and uses a Vector Auto Regression(VAR)model to quantitatively evaluate the spatiotemporal evolution of the coupling coordination degree(CCD)between the two subsystems of WUE and STI.The findings show that:(1)Both the WUE and STI in the Yangtze River Basin showed an upward trend during the study period,but the STI effectively lagged behind the WUE;(2)The CCD of the two subsystems generally showed an upward trend,and the CCD of each province was improved to varying degrees,but the majority of regions did not develop a high-quality coordination stage;(3)The CCD of the two systems displayed apparent positive spatial autocorrelation in the spatial correlation pattern,and there were only two types:high-high(H-H)urbanization areas and low-low(L-L)urbanization areas;(4)The STI showed no obvious response to the impact of the WUE,while the WUE responded greatly to the STI,and both of them were highly dependent on themselves.Optimizing their interaction mechanisms should be the primary focus of high-quality development in the basin of the Yangtze River in the future.These results give the government an empirical basis to enhance the WUE and promote regional sustainable development.

基于DEA-Malmquist模型的广东人工智能领军企业技术创新效率研究

基于DEA(数据包络分析)-Malmquist模型,选取广东人工智能(AI)产业的31家领军企业,对其技术创新效率进行实证分析。对于企业的技术创新效率,用Malmquist技术生产率指标来表示。Malmquist技术生产率指标是技术效率和技术进步的乘积,技术效率则又是规模效率和纯技术效率的乘积。然后再根据静态和动态两个方面的实证分析结果,提出广东人工智能产业未来发展的若干建议。

基于超效率SBM-ESDA与Tobit模型的制造业绿色创新效率时空分异研究——以长江经济带为例

长江经济带拥有世界上最大的制造业基地,但其制造业绿色创新效率亟须提高。论文首先运用考虑非期望产出的超效率SBM模型对1997-2021年长江经济带11个省市的制造业绿色创新效率进行测算,接着分别采用核密度估计和探索性数据空间分析法对其时间动态变化和空间相关性进行分析,最后运用Tobit模型对制造业绿色创新效率影响因素进行实证分析。结果表明:统计期内,长江经济带制造业绿色创新效率整体呈现波动上升趋势且均值上下游高中游低的“U”型分布;长江经济带制造业绿色创新效率时空分异随时间逐渐缩小且向高效率地区聚集,但仍存在个别区域两极分化现象。为提高制造业绿色创新效率,应引导各地区调整进出口产品结构、发挥市场在资源配置中的决定性作用、优化制造产业结构及提升高等教育人才培养质量等。

基于超效率DEA-Malmquist指数的人工智能产业创新效率评价

本文运用超效率DEA从静态层面测算了2010—2020年我国30个省份的人工智能产业创新效率,并采用Malmquist指数对人工智能产业创新效率的变动情况进行动态分析,对人工智能产业全要素生产率进行分解,分析影响创新效率进步关键指标.研究发现:从整体发展水平看,我国30个省份的人工智能产业创新效率总体呈平缓上升趋势;从地区发展水平看,东、中、西部地区的人工智能产业创新效率存在明显的差异性,东部地区呈现缓慢下降的趋势,但仍继续维持领跑态势,中部地区人工智能产业创新效率总体呈缓慢上升趋势,西部地区人工智能产业创新效率呈波动式变化,但变化不大且始终低于平均效率;从全要素生产率来看,我国人工智能产业全要素生产率整体呈波动上升趋势,主要受技术效率和技术进步指数的影响,技术效率的提升得益于规模效率和纯技术效率的增长.

基于DEA和熵权TOPSIS模型比较的高校科技创新效率分析

高校是国家创新体系的重要组成部分,为深入分析新形势下高校科技创新效率,完善高校科技创新效率评价方法,综合运用数据包络分析(data envelopment analysis,DEA)模型和基于信息熵法的理想点模型(technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution model,TOPSIS),以天津市区域14所高校为例,对比分析了新形势下高校科技创新效率。基于DEA模型的分析结果表明,14所高校科技创新效率总体呈不规律波动趋势,即使继续加大投入力度,也仅能获得科技成果产出规模有限的增加;基于TOPSIS模型的分析结果表明,14所高校科技创新效率总体呈上升发展趋势,可继续加大投入力度,以促进科技成果更大规模地产出。通过两个模型的综合运用,实现了评价结果的交叉验证,为新形势下高校科技创新效率评价提供了新思路。

数字产业化与产业创新效率——基于TrueFESFA模型的估计

党的二十大强调要加快实施创新驱动发展战略,提高科技投入效能和科技成果转化水平。文章基于数字核心产业的内涵,构建相关指标体系并利用主成分分析法测算了反映地区数字经济核心产业发展水平的指数--数字产业化指数,在分析数字产业化赋能产业创新效率的作用机理的基础上,利用2003-2020年我国省级面板数据,实证检验了数字产业化对高技术产业创新效率的影响。研究发现:1)2003年以来,中国数字产业化指数呈显著上升趋势,但区域发展差异和“数字鸿沟”特征明显。2)数字产业化能够显著提升高技术产业的研发效率和成果转化效率。但这种赋能主要来自于数字技术应用业和数字要素驱动业,数字产品制造业和服务业的影响较小。3)数字产业化的影响具有显著的区域异质性,对西部东北部的研发效率和东中部的成果转化效率的促进效应更大;本地数字核心产业的发展对邻近地区的空间溢出效应较弱。4)基于真实固定效应随机前沿模型(TrueFE SFA)的效率估计表明,2003年以来中国高技术产业的研发效率和成果转化效率均存在显著上升趋势,中西部追赶趋势明显,区域差距不断缩小。最后,根据研究结论提出相关对策建议。

Do ESG Scores in Corporations Improve Green Innovation Empirical Evidence from Listed Chinese Companies

The ESG score system is a fundamental component of the green financial system that is essential in promoting corporate environmental progress.In this work we investigate the micro-environmental impact of ESG scores using panel fixed effects models.We examine the processes underlying the influence of ESG scores on the performance of corporate green innovation as well as any potential inequalities in this impact under different moderating factors.To conduct our analysis we use data from Chinese-listed A-shares on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2010 to 2019.Our study demonstrates a relationship between corporate green innovation and ESG ratings indicating that higher ESG ratings assist businesses in achieving better green innovation results.This beneficial effect is evident both numerically and qualitatively and it continues to hold up even after being put through several demanding tests.Additionally we pinpoint two main ways that ESG encourages corporate green innovation by boosting government-enterprise ties and strengthening corporate investment efficiency.We also note that while business characteristics aligned with sustainability further enhance the favorable influence of ESG on green innovation performance characteristics linked to ecologically detrimental activities impede the contribution of ESG to green innovation.Our study adds to the body of knowledge already available on corporate environmental performance and green finance by offering empirical insights that can help enhance corporate environmental development and improve the ESG rating system.

Threshold effects of tourism agglomeration on the green innovation efficiency of China's tourism industry

Industrial agglomeration is an essential and effective way to integrate resources and elements. Its impact on the green innovation efficiency of the tourism industry is a process of continuous development and dynamic change. This paper, based on the provincial panel data from 2006 to 2015, uses super SBM model to measure the green innovation efficiency of China's tourism industry.The threshold regression model is employed to conduct empirical tests of the nonlinear threshold effect of agglomeration on the green innovation efficiency of tourism industry. The inter-provincial differences of various threshold effects and their possible causes are analyzed. Results indicate that the green innovation efficiency of China's tourism industry is generally growing, while regional disparity is significant with a gradient decrease along the eastern-central-western regions. There is an obvious positive nonlinear relationship between tourism agglomeration and green innovation efficiency. It is also found that with the increase of agglomeration, its influence is at a high level. As the level of agglomeration crosses the first threshold, its impact is at a low level, and when it crosses the second threshold, the impact of tourism agglomeration is at an intermediate level. Finally, this paper proposes the basic path and some policy recommendations to promote the green innovation efficiency of the tourism industry in China.

Study on the efficiency and regional disparity of green technology innovation in China's industrial companies

This paper first constructed a system to evaluate the innovation efficiency of industrial companies within China's Mainland.Then,a principal component analysis(PCA) was performed to these indicators for dimensionality reduction,so as to figure out the technology innovation efficiency in these two phases,respectively.Finally,the overall efficiency of industrial companies in different regions was estimated and factorized via data envelopment analysis(DEA).The results showed that:(1)the efficiency of green technology innovation of industrial companies in China was relatively low as a whole,which mainly resulted from pure technical efficiency(PTE).Further,this huge gap continues to expand in these regions.And both PTE and scale efficiency(SE) in central and western regions leave much to be expected.(2)In the first phase of green technology development,when environmental factors were concerned,the efficiency was much lower than that without environmental considerations.Besides,the central and western regions were facing increasingly severe environmental problems,and there was a wide disparity in technology development efficiency among eastern,central,and western regions.(3)In the second phase of green technology commercialization,there were still more rooms for improvement in raising the efficiency of green technology innovation,and the efficiency in eastern,central,and western regions was ranked from highest to lowest.(4)Liaoning,Hebei,Heilongjiang,Xinjiang,Shanxi,Inner Mongolia,Yunnan,and Qinghai should focus on improving their technology;Jilin,Jiangxi,Anhui,and Guangxi should make their efforts to reduce resource redundancy;whereas Ningxia and Gansu should try to solve the above two issues.

Evaluation and Influence Factor of Green Efficiency of China’s Agricultural Innovation from the Perspective of Technical Transformation

Agricultural innovation is important for the green transformation of agriculture.Based on the perspective of technology transformation,this paper builds a theoretical analysis framework and evaluation index system for green efficiency of agricultural innovation,and discusses the evolution laws and influencing factors of the green efficiency of China’s agricultural innovation from 2005 to 2017 utilizing the DEA model,Malmquist index,and Tobit regression analysis.The results show that:1)The overall green efficiency of China’s agricultural innovation is not high,the green efficiency of agricultural innovation in eastern China is mainly driven by pure technical efficiency,while that in central and western China is mainly driven by the scale efficiency.The green efficiency of agricultural innovation shows significant spatial differences,and the low efficiency and relatively low-efficiency regions moved to central and southeastern China.2)Technical progress is the main force affecting the change of green total factor productivity of China’s agricultural innovation,seeing a trend of decrease followed by an increase.Pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency exhibit an increasing-decreasing trend,and gradually transform into key factors that restrict the improvement of the green total factor productivity of agricultural innovation.3)Agricultural technologies’diffusion,absorption,and implementation are three influencing factors of the green efficiency of agricultural innovation.The local level of informatization,the number of agricultural technicians in enterprises and institutions,average education level of residents,and the level of agricultural mechanization have positive impacts on the promotion of the green efficiency of agricultural innovation,promoting the diffusion,absorption and implementation of agricultural innovation technology can significantly improve the green efficiency of agricultural innovation.

Influence of technological innovation on regional green development efficiency in China(2004-2017):An empirical analysis based on the spatial Durbin model

Under the background of green development,the function direction of technological innovation to green development efficiency,which includes economy,resources and environment,needs to be observed by demonstration.In this paper,the green development efficiency of 30 provinces(cities and districts)in China from 2004 to 2017 is measured and its intertemporal changes,regional differences of green development efficiency are analyzed by using the super efficiency SBM model,further through theoretical analysis and empirical study,the influence of technological innovation on regional green development efficiency and its impact mechanism are investigated.The influence mechanisms of the technological innovation on green development efficiency are clarified and empirically tested by spatial econometric models from the perspectives of the growth sources and quantitative analysis.The results show that during the observation period,the green development efficiency in China exhibits a U-shaped variation,but there are huge regional differences with the obvious polarization in Eastern and Midwestern regions,and that technological innovation has some effect in promoting the regional green development efficiency,but not significant enough,which are heterogeneous according to the time periods and regions.

Coupling Relationship Among Technological Innovation,Industrial Transformation and Environmental Efficiency:A Case Study of the Huaihai Economic Zone,China

The 14th Five-Year Plan period is a critical period for China to achieve high-quality development. Based on super-efficiency slacks-based measure(SBM) model, grey-related analysis(GRA) and other models, this paper studies the heterogeneity of the coupling relationship among technological innovation, industrial transformation and environmental efficiency in the Huaihai Economic Zone during the period of 2005-2019. In addition, it analyzes the coupling mechanism of single and binary systems to the ternary system, which is of great significance for the collaborative symbiosis among systems. The findings are as follows. 1) The technological innovation, industrial transformation and environmental efficiency(TIE) systems of the Huaihai Economic Zone had significant spatial-temporal heterogeneity. Although their evaluation value fluctuated, the development trends are all positive. Ultimately, technological innovation is characterized by being high in the northeast and low in the southwest around Xuzhou, while other systems are relatively staggered in space. 2) The coupling of TIE systems is in transition, lack of orderly integration and benign interaction. However, the developing trend of interaction is also upward, and a spatial pattern driven by Xuzhou and Linyi as the dual cores has gradually formed. Moreover, the coupling is mostly manifested as outdated technological innovation and industrial transformation. Except for the final coordination of regenerative cities, the other resource types are all in transition. Cities in all traffic locations are still in transition. The overall system interaction of cities on Longhai Line(Lanzhou-Lianyungang Railway) is relatively optimal, and cities on Xinshi Line(Xinxiang-Rizhao Railway) are accelerating toward synergy. 3) The coupling status of TIE systems depends on the development of the single system and the interaction of the binary(2E) system. The coupling is closely related to technological innovation and Technology-Industry system,and is hindered by the inefficient interaction of Technology-Environment system. Specifically, the synergy of regenerative cities is attributed to the advantage of a single system and the effective integration of 2E systems. Beneficial from the advantages of environmental efficiency, the cities on Xinshi Line promote the synergy of the 2E and TIE systems. Therefore, while the Huaihai Economic Zone stimulates the development potential of the single and 2E systems, it is necessary to amplify the superimposition effect of systems in accordance on the basis of resource and location.

Advantage of populous countries in the trends of innovation efficiency

A flurry of studies indicates that population size has a positive effect on innovation,however,cross-country empirical evidence remains sparse.In this paper,we add to the literature by investigating the relationship between population size and innovation efficiency at the country level through constructing three relative indexes based on the datasets of patent applications and Research and Development(R&D)investment.Different from previous studies based on absolute innovation indicators,the relative indexes can reflect the core innovation efficiency of economies by excluding the impact from the difference of economic development level,with a view putting all economies into a comparable standard framework.For all of the three relative indexes,their long-term trends show significant correlations with population size,and the economy with a larger population usually has better and stable performance on the trends of innovation efficiency.In addition,we find that there is a critical population size,over which the economy would be more likely to have a spontaneous improvement on innovation efficiency.This study provides direct evidence in supporting the population size advantage on the trends of innovation efficiency at the economy level and provides new insight to understand the rapid development of innovation in a few populous countries.

Analysis on the Efficiency of Technology Innovation of Listed Companies in China's Machinery Manufacturing Industry

On the basis of the definition of technological innovation and efficiency,based on the DEA method,this paper takes the panel data of 20 listed companies in China's machinery manufacturing industry from 2011 to 2015 as samples,evaluating the technological innovation efficiency of listed companies in China's machinery manufacturing industry.Finally,it sums up and puts forward effective countermeasures to improve the technological innovation of listed companies in China's machinery manufacturing industry.It is hoped that it will play a guiding role in the technological innovation activities of listed companies in China's machinery manufacturing industry.

Technological Innovation Efficiency Evaluation of Equipment Manufacturing Industry--An Empirical Study of Shandong Province in China

Based on the statistical data of eight sub-sectors of equipment manufacturing industry in Shandong province from 2012-2016,DEA and Malmquist index were used to give the static and dynamic evaluation of technological innovation efficiency.The results show that the overall technological innovation efficiency of Shandong equipment manufacturing industry is higher due to the high pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency.As the technical regress and inefficient allocation of resources deepened,the total factor productivity of Shandong equipment manufacturing industry presents a dropped tendency.According to the innovation efficiency and its changes,different industries should adopt the specific development strategies.

中国涉农上市企业科技创新效率及提升路径——基于DEA-Malmquist与fsQCA的实证分析

涉农上市企业是推动农业科技创新主体之一,提升涉农企业科技创新效率受多因素共同影响,因此引入构型理证,以2018—2020年中国46家涉农上市企业为研究对象,采用DEA-Malmquist模型对其科技创新全要素生产率展开测度,进而采用模糊集定性比较分析(fsQCA)方法探究其科技创新效率的主要因素组合及发展路径。结果显示,受技术创新和新技术的运用水平不高等影响,中国涉农上市企业总体科技创新生产效率呈现下降趋势。基于fsQCA测度结果,提出了从人才、规模、经营、技术和管理这5个要素出发,根据涉农上市企业自身发展情况选择相对应的发展路径,以提升其科技创新效率的对策建议。