IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/teinso/v79y2024ics0160791x24002604.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of industrial robots on low-carbon green performance: Evidence from the belt and road initiative countries

Author

Listed:
  • Long, Guoren
  • Duan, Dingyun
  • Wang, Hua
  • Chen, Shaojian

Abstract

Global warming is intensifying, with Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) countries accounting for over two-thirds of global carbon dioxide emissions. As a pivotal technology in advanced manufacturing, industrial robots significantly impact the overall carbon footprint through their role in production processes. This study examines how the use of industrial robots influences the Low-Carbon Green Performance (LCGP) across BRI nations, utilizing a dataset spanning from 2004 to 2020. The findings reveal that the integration of industrial robots notably boosts the LCGP within these countries, a conclusion supported by extensive robustness evaluations. The novelty of this study lies in uncovering the underlying mechanism by which industrial robots improve LCGP through the promotion of technological innovation. Specifically, we find that industrial robots have a pronounced effect on technological progress (TC), an impact that is further amplified by increases in labor productivity and human capital levels. This discovery provides policy implications for BRI governments, suggesting that actively promoting the development of industrial robots can accelerate energy transformation and upgrading, thereby reducing carbon emissions. Our research fills a significant void concerning the environmental impact of industrial robots and offers new perspectives and strategies for BRI countries to achieve low-carbon development goals. These findings contribute significant theoretical and practical value to global environmental protection and sustainable development.

Suggested Citation

  • Long, Guoren & Duan, Dingyun & Wang, Hua & Chen, Shaojian, 2024. "The impact of industrial robots on low-carbon green performance: Evidence from the belt and road initiative countries," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 79(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:teinso:v:79:y:2024:i:c:s0160791x24002604
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102712
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160791X24002604
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102712?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

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gihleb, Rania & Giuntella, Osea & Stella, Luca & Wang, Tianyi, 2022. "Industrial robots, Workers’ safety, and health," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    2. Du, Longzheng & Lin, Weifen, 2022. "Does the application of industrial robots overcome the Solow paradox? Evidence from China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    3. Lee, Yoonsoo & Mukoyama, Toshihiko, 2015. "Entry and exit of manufacturing plants over the business cycle," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 20-27.
    4. Paul Gaggl & Greg C. Wright, 2017. "A Short-Run View of What Computers Do: Evidence from a UK Tax Incentive," American Economic Journal: Applied Economics, American Economic Association, vol. 9(3), pages 262-294, July.
    5. Wang, En-Ze & Lee, Chien-Chiang & Li, Yaya, 2022. "Assessing the impact of industrial robots on manufacturing energy intensity in 38 countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    6. Frey, Carl Benedikt & Osborne, Michael A., 2017. "The future of employment: How susceptible are jobs to computerisation?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 254-280.
    7. Ping Chen & Jiawei Gao & Zheng Ji & Han Liang & Yu Peng, 2022. "Do Artificial Intelligence Applications Affect Carbon Emission Performance?—Evidence from Panel Data Analysis of Chinese Cities," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-16, August.
    8. Daron Acemoglu & Pascual Restrepo, 2020. "Robots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor Markets," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(6), pages 2188-2244.
    9. 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).
    10. Daron Acemoglu & Pascual Restrepo, 2018. "The Race between Man and Machine: Implications of Technology for Growth, Factor Shares, and Employment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(6), pages 1488-1542, June.
    11. Fan, Haichao & Hu, Yichuan & Tang, Lixin, 2021. "Labor costs and the adoption of robots in China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 186(C), pages 608-631.
    12. Li, Yaya & Zhang, Yuru & Pan, An & Han, Minchun & Veglianti, Eleonora, 2022. "Carbon emission reduction effects of industrial robot applications: Heterogeneity characteristics and influencing mechanisms," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 70(C).
    13. Honma, Satoshi & Ushifusa, Yoshiaki & Okamura, Soyoka & Vandercamme, Lilu, 2023. "Measuring carbon emissions performance of Japan's metal industry: Energy inputs, agglomeration, and the potential for green recovery reduction," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C).
    14. Hong Cheng & Ruixue Jia & Dandan Li & Hongbin Li, 2019. "The Rise of Robots in China," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 33(2), pages 71-88, Spring.
    15. Zhou, Xiaoyong & Zhou, Dequn & Wang, Qunwei & Su, Bin, 2019. "How information and communication technology drives carbon emissions: A sector-level analysis for China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 380-392.
    16. Bai, Ling & Guo, Tianran & Xu, Wei & Liu, Yaobin & Kuang, Ming & Jiang, Lei, 2023. "Effects of digital economy on carbon emission intensity in Chinese cities: A life-cycle theory and the application of non-linear spatial panel smooth transition threshold model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    17. Yaya Li & Yuru Zhang & An Pan & Minchun Han & Eleonora Veglianti, 2022. "Carbon emission reduction effects of industrial robot applications: Heterogeneity characteristics and influencing mechanisms," Post-Print hal-04522085, HAL.
    18. Chi Gong & Xianghui Yang & Hongru Tan & Xiaoye Lu, 2023. "Industrial Robots, Economic Growth, and Sustainable Development in an Aging Society," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-12, March.
    19. Ding, Xin & Li, Jingshan & Song, Tiantian & Ding, Chenyang & Tan, Wenhao, 2023. "Does carbon emission of firms aggravate the risk of financial distress? Evidence from China," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 56(C).
    20. Gan, Jiawu & Liu, Lihua & Qiao, Gang & Zhang, Qin, 2023. "The role of robot adoption in green innovation: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 119(C).
    21. Hao Lv & Beibei Shi & Nan Li & Rong Kang, 2022. "Intelligent Manufacturing and Carbon Emissions Reduction: Evidence from the Use of Industrial Robots in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-20, November.
    22. Achi, Awele & Adeola, Ogechi & Achi, Francis Chukwuedo, 2022. "CSR and green process innovation as antecedents of micro, small, and medium enterprise performance: Moderating role of perceived environmental volatility," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 139(C), pages 771-781.
    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. Yingji Liu & Ju Guo & Fangbing Shen & Yuegang Song, 2025. "Can artificial intelligence technology improve green total factor efficiency in energy utilisation? Empirical evidence from 282 cities in China," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 58(2), pages 1-34, April.
    2. Yang, Xiyue & Chen, Hui & Li, Baoxi & Jia, Danning & Ahmad, Mahmood, 2025. "The relationship between artificial intelligence, geopolitical risk, and green growth: Exploring the moderating role of green finance and energy technology," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 217(C).

    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. Lin, Boqiang & Xu, Chongchong, 2024. "The effects of industrial robots on firm energy intensity: From the perspective of technological innovation and electrification," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 203(C).
    2. Lin, Boqiang & Xu, Chongchong, 2024. "Enhancing energy-environmental performance through industrial intelligence: Insights from Chinese prefectural-level cities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 365(C).
    3. Han, Wang-Zhe & Zhang, Yi-Ming, 2024. "Carbon reduction effect of industrial robots: Breaking the impasse for carbon emissions and development," Innovation and Green Development, Elsevier, vol. 3(3).
    4. Zhou, Zhongsheng & Li, Zhuo & Du, Shanzhong & Cao, June, 2024. "Robot adoption and enterprise R&D manipulation: Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    5. Dai, Hangrui & Yang, Ronghai & Cao, Rongguang & Yin, Lei, 2024. "Does the application of industrial robots promote export green transformation? Evidence from Chinese manufacturing enterprises," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 96(PA).
    6. Wang, Jianlong & Wang, Weilong & Liu, Yong & Wu, Haitao, 2023. "Can industrial robots reduce carbon emissions? Based on the perspective of energy rebound effect and labor factor flow in China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    7. Tao, Weiliang & Weng, Shimei & Chen, Xueli & ALHussan, Fawaz Baddar & Song, Malin, 2024. "Artificial intelligence-driven transformations in low-carbon energy structure: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 136(C).
    8. Tianru Qin & Lin Liang & Peng Liang & Wenqun Liang, 2025. "Can industrial robot utilization drive the total factor productivity of enterprises?," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 46(1), pages 129-148, January.
    9. Deng, Yating & Zou, Yueqing & Guang, Fengtao, 2025. "Unveiling the energy efficiency paradox: Industrial automation and energy rebound in China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 328(C).
    10. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Wang, En-Ze, 2025. "Energy regulation and industrial robot adoption: The role of human capital," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    11. Liu, Yunxin & Cao, Yuqiang & Lu, Meiting & Shan, Yaowen & Xu, Jiangang, 2024. "Automating efficiency: The impact of industrial robots on labor investment in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    12. Yuan, Bo & Sun, Pengbo, 2024. "Does the high-tech foreign investment spark robot adoption in the developing world? Evidence from China," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 302-314.
    13. Schneider, Florian, 2024. "Do robots boost productivity? A quantitative meta-study," MPRA Paper 123392, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Lee, Chien-Chiang & Yan, Jingyang, 2024. "Will artificial intelligence make energy cleaner? Evidence of nonlinearity," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 363(C).
    15. Zhou, Wei & Zhuang, Yan & Chen, Yan, 2024. "How does artificial intelligence affect pollutant emissions by improving energy efficiency and developing green technology," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    16. Lihua Zhang & Tian Gan & Jiachen Fan, 2023. "Do industrial robots affect the labour market? Evidence from China," Economics of Transition and Institutional Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 787-817, July.
    17. Deng, Yue & Feng, Aiya & Hu, Dezhuang, 2025. "Gender earnings gap in Chinese firms: Can it be narrowed by industrial robots?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    18. Wan, Yaqi & Li, Zhensheng, 2025. "Environmental governance shock and industrial intelligence upgrading: Insights from machine-labor substitution," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 102(C).
    19. Cheng, Han & Min, Changyi, 2025. "The mitigation effect of industrial robots on air pollution," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    20. Cao, Yuanyuan & Chen, Shaojian & Tang, Heyan, 2025. "Robot adoption and firm export: Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 210(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • Q43 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Energy - - - Energy and the Macroeconomy
    • C33 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Multiple or Simultaneous Equation Models; Multiple Variables - - - Models with Panel Data; Spatio-temporal Models
    • O13 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Development - - - Agriculture; Natural Resources; Environment; Other Primary Products

    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:teinso:v:79:y:2024:i:c:s0160791x24002604. 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: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/technology-in-society .

    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.