IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/eneeco/v116y2022ics0140988322005552.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Do regional integration policies matter? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment on heterogeneous green innovation

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Lei
  • Ma, Shaojun
  • Zheng, Yilin
  • Ma, Xiaoyu
  • Duan, Kaifeng

Abstract

In recent years, the governance crisis represented by air pollution, climate warming, and resource and environmental degradation has restricted the sustainable development of cities. Green innovation, characterized by low carbon intensity and efficiency, is an important way to solve the dilemma of resource constraints and ecosystem degradation. This paper constructs a quasi-natural experiment with China's regional integration policies as the shock, and studies the policy effects of heterogeneous green innovation from 2005 to 2019. The results show that: the impact of regional integration policies on total green innovation is dynamic and sustainable; regional integration policies can positively promote exploitative green innovation, but have no significant impact on exploratory green innovation; and the effects of regional integration policies on green innovation in cities of different sizes, locations, and pollution levels is heterogeneous. Future policy design should therefore pay more attention to the incentive effect of exploratory green innovation.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Lei & Ma, Shaojun & Zheng, Yilin & Ma, Xiaoyu & Duan, Kaifeng, 2022. "Do regional integration policies matter? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment on heterogeneous green innovation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:116:y:2022:i:c:s0140988322005552
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eneco.2022.106426
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140988322005552
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eneco.2022.106426?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Guan, Jiancheng & Liu, Na, 2016. "Exploitative and exploratory innovations in knowledge network and collaboration network: A patent analysis in the technological field of nano-energy," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 97-112.
    2. James J. Heckman & Hidehiko Ichimura & Petra E. Todd, 1997. "Matching As An Econometric Evaluation Estimator: Evidence from Evaluating a Job Training Programme," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 64(4), pages 605-654.
    3. Rafiq, Shuddhasattwa & Salim, Ruhul & Nielsen, Ingrid, 2016. "Urbanization, openness, emissions, and energy intensity: A study of increasingly urbanized emerging economies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 20-28.
    4. Du, Kerui & Cheng, Yuanyuan & Yao, Xin, 2021. "Environmental regulation, green technology innovation, and industrial structure upgrading: The road to the green transformation of Chinese cities," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    5. Chen, Zhongfei & Zhang, Xiao & Chen, Fanglin, 2021. "Do carbon emission trading schemes stimulate green innovation in enterprises? Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 168(C).
    6. Fang, Guochang & Gao, Zhengye & Tian, Lixin & Fu, Min, 2022. "What drives urban carbon emission efficiency? – Spatial analysis based on nighttime light data," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 312(C).
    7. Yang, Yuying & Guo, Haixiang & Chen, Linfei & Liu, Xiao & Gu, Mingyun & Ke, Xiaoling, 2019. "Regional analysis of the green development level differences in Chinese mineral resource-based cities," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 261-272.
    8. Shaojun Ma & Lei Li & Huimin Ke & Yilin Zheng, 2022. "Environmental Protection, Industrial Structure and Urbanization: Spatiotemporal Evidence from Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(2), pages 1-17, January.
    9. Andrés Rodríguez‐Pose & Callum Wilkie, 2019. "Innovating in less developed regions: What drives patenting in the lagging regions of Europe and North America," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 50(1), pages 4-37, March.
    10. Gilsing, Victor & Nooteboom, Bart & Vanhaverbeke, Wim & Duysters, Geert & van den Oord, Ad, 2008. "Network embeddedness and the exploration of novel technologies: Technological distance, betweenness centrality and density," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(10), pages 1717-1731, December.
    11. Jun-You Lin, 2021. "Collaboration exploitation and exploration: does a proactive search strategy matter?," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 126(10), pages 8295-8329, October.
    12. Tang, Chenghui & Guan, Mingming & Dou, Jianmin, 2021. "Understanding the impact of High Speed Railway on urban innovation performance from the perspective of agglomeration externalities and network externalities," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 67(C).
    13. Lei Li & Yilin Zheng & Shaojun Ma, 2022. "Indoor Air Purification and Residents’ Self-Rated Health: Evidence from the China Health and Nutrition Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(10), pages 1-17, May.
    14. Wang, Mei & Xu, Mi & Ma, Shaojun, 2021. "The effect of the spatial heterogeneity of human capital structure on regional green total factor productivity," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 427-441.
    15. Hao, Xiaoli & Deng, Feng, 2019. "The marginal and double threshold effects of regional innovation on energy consumption structure: Evidence from resource-based regions in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 131(C), pages 144-154.
    16. Xu, Le & Fan, Meiting & Yang, Lili & Shao, Shuai, 2021. "Heterogeneous green innovations and carbon emission performance: Evidence at China's city level," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    17. S. H. A. Koop & C. J. Leeuwen, 2017. "The challenges of water, waste and climate change in cities," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 19(2), pages 385-418, April.
    18. Yang, Haochang & Li, Lianshui & Liu, Yaobin, 2022. "The effect of manufacturing intelligence on green innovation performance in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 178(C).
    19. Shao-Zhou Qi & Chao-Bo Zhou & Kai Li & Si-Yan Tang, 2021. "Influence of a pilot carbon trading policy on enterprises’ low-carbon innovation in China," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 21(3), pages 318-336, March.
    20. Sueyoshi, Toshiyuki & Yuan, Yan, 2017. "Social sustainability measured by intermediate approach for DEA environmental assessment: Chinese regional planning for economic development and pollution prevention," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 154-166.
    21. Obobisa, Emma Serwaa & Chen, Haibo & Mensah, Isaac Adjei, 2022. "The impact of green technological innovation and institutional quality on CO2 emissions in African countries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 180(C).
    22. Zhuo, Chengfeng & Xie, Yuping & Mao, Yanhua & Chen, Pengqin & Li, Yiqiao, 2022. "Can cross-regional environmental protection promote urban green development: Zero-sum game or win-win choice?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    23. Hasan, Iftekhar & Tucci, Christopher L., 2010. "The innovation-economic growth nexus: Global evidence," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(10), pages 1264-1276, December.
    24. Malin Song & Jun Tao & Shuhong Wang, 2015. "FDI, technology spillovers and green innovation in China: analysis based on Data Envelopment Analysis," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 228(1), pages 47-64, May.
    25. Li, Pei & Lu, Yi & Wang, Jin, 2016. "Does flattening government improve economic performance? Evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 18-37.
    26. Hu, Wei & Fan, Yuemin, 2020. "City size and energy conservation: Do large cities in China consume more energy?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    27. Kneller, Richard & Manderson, Edward, 2012. "Environmental regulations and innovation activity in UK manufacturing industries," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 211-235.
    28. Li, Lei & Ma, Shaojun & Zheng, Yilin & Xiao, Xinyue, 2022. "Integrated regional development: Comparison of urban agglomeration policies in China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    29. Brunnermeier, Smita B. & Cohen, Mark A., 2003. "Determinants of environmental innovation in US manufacturing industries," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 45(2), pages 278-293, March.
    30. Hu, Guoqiang & Wang, Xiaoqi & Wang, Yu, 2021. "Can the green credit policy stimulate green innovation in heavily polluting enterprises? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    31. Du, Kerui & Li, Pengzhen & Yan, Zheming, 2019. "Do green technology innovations contribute to carbon dioxide emission reduction? Empirical evidence from patent data," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 297-303.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Long, Dengjie & Du, Junhua & Xin, Yongrong, 2023. "Assessing the nexus between natural resource consumption and urban sprawl: Empirical evidence from 288 cities in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 85(PB).
    2. Nie, Changfei & Ye, Susu & Feng, Yuan, 2024. "Place-based policy and urban green technology innovation: Evidence from the revitalization of old revolutionary base areas in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 1257-1272.
    3. Luo, Haotian & Hu, Qing, 2024. "A re-examination of the influence of human capital on urban-rural income gap in China: College enrollment expansion, digital economy and spatial spillover," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 494-519.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hu, Hui & Qi, Shaozhou & Chen, Yuanzhi, 2023. "Using green technology for a better tomorrow: How enterprises and government utilize the carbon trading system and incentive policies," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    2. Lin, Boqiang & Ma, Ruiyang, 2022. "Green technology innovations, urban innovation environment and CO2 emission reduction in China: Fresh evidence from a partially linear functional-coefficient panel model," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    3. Zhang, Yongji & Lan, Minghui & Zhao, Yapu & Su, Zhi & Hao, Yu & Du, Heran, 2024. "Regional carbon emission pressure and corporate green innovation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 360(C).
    4. Kai Tang & Qianbo Chen & Weijie Tan & Yi Jun Wu Feng, 2022. "The Impact of Financial Deepening on Carbon Reductions in China: Evidence from City- and Enterprise-Level Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(18), pages 1-15, September.
    5. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Qin, Shuai & Li, Yaya, 2022. "Does industrial robot application promote green technology innovation in the manufacturing industry?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    6. Biao Hu & Kai Yuan & Tingyun Niu & Liang Zhang & Yuqiong Guan, 2022. "Study on the Spatial and Temporal Evolution Patterns of Green Innovation Efficiency and Driving Factors in Three Major Urban Agglomerations in China—Based on the Perspective of Economic Geography," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(15), pages 1-28, July.
    7. Qi, Xiulin & Wu, Zhifang & Xu, Jinqing & Shan, Biaoan, 2023. "Environmental justice and green innovation: A quasi-natural experiment based on the establishment of environmental courts in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    8. Lin, Boqiang & Ullah, Sami, 2023. "Towards the goal of going green: Do green growth and innovation matter for environmental sustainability in Pakistan," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 285(C).
    9. Wang, Ke-Liang & Sun, Ting-Ting & Xu, Ru-Yu & Miao, Zhuang & Cheng, Yun-He, 2022. "How does internet development promote urban green innovation efficiency? Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    10. Xu, Le & Yang, Lili & Li, Ding & Shao, Shuai, 2023. "Asymmetric effects of heterogeneous environmental standards on green technology innovation: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    11. Chen, Wen, 2023. "Bank connections, corporate social responsibility and low-carbon innovation," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    12. Chunling Yu & Toru Morotomi & Qunwei Wang, 2023. "Heterogeneous Effects of Public Procurement on Environmental Innovation, Evidence from European Companies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-23, September.
    13. Liu, Wei & Zhao, Zhihui & Wen, Zhao & Cheng, Shixiong, 2022. "Environmental regulation and OFDI: Evidence from Chinese listed firms," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 191-208.
    14. Zeng, Shihong & Li, Tengfei & Wu, Shaomin & Gao, Weijun & Li, Gen, 2024. "Does green technology progress have a significant impact on carbon dioxide emissions?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 133(C).
    15. Kopyrina, Olga & Wu, Kai & Ying, Zhanyu, 2023. "Greening through central inspection: The role of legitimacy pressure and risk-taking," Pacific-Basin Finance Journal, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    16. Feng, Gen-Fu & Niu, Peng & Wang, Jun-Zhuo & Liu, Jian, 2022. "Capital market liberalization and green innovation for sustainability: Evidence from China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 610-623.
    17. Liu, Ming & Shan, Yanfei & Li, Yemei, 2022. "Study on the effect of carbon trading regulation on green innovation and heterogeneity analysis from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    18. Chi, Yi & Hu, Ning & Lu, Dong & Yang, Yang, 2023. "Green investment funds and corporate green innovation: From the logic of social value," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    19. Zhuanlan Sun & Demi Zhu, 2023. "Investigating environmental regulation effects on technological innovation: A meta-regression analysis," Energy & Environment, , vol. 34(3), pages 463-492, May.
    20. Xie, Ronghui & Teo, Thompson S.H., 2022. "Green technology innovation, environmental externality, and the cleaner upgrading of industrial structure in China — Considering the moderating effect of environmental regulation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Regional integration policies; Exploitative green innovation; Exploratory green innovation; Difference-in-differences method; Policy effect; Heterogeneity;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O2 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Development Planning and Policy
    • O3 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:eneeco:v:116:y:2022:i:c:s0140988322005552. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/eneco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.