IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v16y2024i16p6833-d1453080.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental Regulation, Green Technology Innovation, and Industrial Green Transformation: Empirical Evidence from a Developing Economy

Author

Listed:
  • Xinyu Zhang

    (School of Economics, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036, China)

  • Yuling Hou

    (School of Economics, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036, China)

  • Kaiwen Geng

    (School of Economics, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036, China)

Abstract

In this paper, to facilitate a green transition in developing economies globally, China is utilized as a standard case study. China has proposed the dual objectives of “carbon peaking” and “carbon neutrality”, where industrial green transformation has emerged as a critical avenue for high-quality industrial development. This paper assesses the extent of China’s industrial green transformation utilizing the SBM-ML model based on provincial panel data from 2004 to 2018 and empirically analyzes the intrinsic mechanism of environmental regulation and green technology innovation in China’s industrial green transformation. Three primary research results are drawn in this paper, which are as follows: (1) innovation compensation effects are generated and environmental regulation and industrial green transformation are positively correlated; (2) environmental regulation’s effect on the industrial green transformation is greatly enhanced under the moderating role of green technology innovation; (3) environmental regulations’ effects on the industrial green transformation differ in time and space. This influence is extremely prominent in eastern and western China but minimal in central China. On account of the introduction of inappropriate environmental restraints, China’s inter-regional pollution transfer has been intensified, leading to the general situation of China’s industrial green development being poor. This research seeks to put forward suggestions from the perspectives of policy applicability, green innovation system formation, and regional policy execution precision, so as to give reference methods for China and global industrial green transformation.

Suggested Citation

  • Xinyu Zhang & Yuling Hou & Kaiwen Geng, 2024. "Environmental Regulation, Green Technology Innovation, and Industrial Green Transformation: Empirical Evidence from a Developing Economy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-16, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:16:p:6833-:d:1453080
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/16/6833/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/16/16/6833/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. 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).
    2. Yang, Chih-Hai & Tseng, Yu-Hsuan & Chen, Chiang-Ping, 2012. "Environmental regulations, induced R&D, and productivity: Evidence from Taiwan's manufacturing industries," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 34(4), pages 514-532.
    3. Barbieri, Nicolò, 2015. "Investigating the impacts of technological position and European environmental regulation on green automotive patent activity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 140-152.
    4. Wanfang Shen & Yufei Liu & Xiaowen Liu & Jianing Shi & Wenbin Liu & Chengye Liu, 2023. "The Effect of Industrial Structure Upgrading and Human Capital Structure Upgrading on Green Development Efficiency—Based on China’s Resource-Based Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(5), pages 1-26, March.
    5. Spyridon Stavropoulos & Ronald Wall & Yuanze Xu, 2018. "Environmental regulations and industrial competitiveness: evidence from China," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 50(12), pages 1378-1394, March.
    6. Chintrakarn, Pandej, 2008. "Environmental regulation and U.S. states' technical inefficiency," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 100(3), pages 363-365, September.
    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. Lizhi Cui & Wang Sun, 2024. "Synergistic Impacts of Clean Energy Demonstration Policy on Air Pollution and Carbon Reduction," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(22), pages 1-25, November.
    2. Putri, Schalke Anindya, 2024. "Snapshot of Indonesia's Provincial Green Economies: A Complexity Approach," MPRA Paper 123139, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised Jan 2025.

    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. 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).
    2. Muyao Li & Jinsong Zhang & Ramakrishnan Ramanathan & Ruiqian Li, 2020. "Opening the Black Box: The Impacts of Environmental Regulations on Technological Innovation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-18, June.
    3. Cai, Hechang & Wang, Zilong & Zhang, Zhiwen & Xu, Liuyang, 2023. "Does environmental regulation promote technology transfer? Evidence from a partially linear functional-coefficient panel model," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    4. Juying Zeng & Jun Ren, 2022. "How does green entrepreneurship affect environmental improvement? Empirical findings from 293 enterprises," International Entrepreneurship and Management Journal, Springer, vol. 18(1), pages 409-434, March.
    5. 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).
    6. Xinghua Wang & Shunchen Wu & Xiaojuan Qin & Meixiang La & Haixia Zuo, 2022. "Informal Environment Regulation, Green Technology Innovation and Air Pollution: Quasi-Natural Experiments from Prefectural Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-13, May.
    7. Caiyun Lin & Shibao Lu & Xuyang Su & Chuanhao Wen, 2024. "RETRACTED ARTICLE: Can the greening of the tax system improve enterprises’ ESG performance? Evidence from China," Economic Change and Restructuring, Springer, vol. 57(3), pages 1-32, June.
    8. Tang, Tianwei & Jiang, Xiaojing & Zhu, Kaiwen & Ying, Ziyao & Liu, Wenyu, 2024. "Effects of the promotion pressure of officials on green low-carbon transition: Evidence from 277 cities in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    9. 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.
    10. Zhu, Xuehong & Zuo, Xuguang & Li, Hailing, 2021. "The dual effects of heterogeneous environmental regulation on the technological innovation of Chinese steel enterprises—Based on a high-dimensional fixed effects model," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    11. Ye Tian & Qian Wan & Yao Tan, 2022. "Exploration on Inter-Relation of Environmental Regulation, Economic Structure, and Economic Growth: Provincial Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(1), pages 1-23, December.
    12. Lei Chen & Lijun Hu & Fang He & Heqi Zhang, 2024. "Environmental Regulation, Foreign Direct Investment, and Green Total Factor Productivity: An Empirical Test Based on Chinese City-Level Panel Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-23, June.
    13. Daoping Chen & Haifeng Liao & Hong Tan, 2024. "Can carbon trading policy boost upgrading and optimization of industrial structure? An empirical study based on data from China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-16, December.
    14. Ziqi Ye & Yujia Liu & Ying Rong, 2024. "How Environmental Regulations Affect Green Total Factor Productivity—Evidence from Chinese Cities," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(7), pages 1-19, April.
    15. Zijing Cao & Huiming Zhang & Zixuan Hang & Dequn Zhou & Buhang Jing, 2022. "Does the Responsibility System for Environmental Protection Targets Enhance Corporate High-Quality Development in China?," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-18, May.
    16. Yangyang Zhong & Yilin Zhong & Longpeng Zhang & Zhiwei Tang, 2024. "The Path to Urban Sustainability: Urban Intelligent Transformation and Green Development—Evidence from 286 Cities in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(23), pages 1-32, November.
    17. Wei Wang & Hailin Chen, 2023. "Extrusion Effect or Promotion Effect? The Effect of Environmental Regulation on Enterprise Green Innovation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-18, January.
    18. Wu, Haitao & Hao, Yu & Ren, Siyu, 2020. "How do environmental regulation and environmental decentralization affect green total factor energy efficiency: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    19. Chuantang Ren & Tao Wang & Yue Wang & Yizhen Zhang & Luwei Wang, 2023. "The Heterogeneous Effects of Formal and Informal Environmental Regulation on Green Technology Innovation—An Empirical Study of 284 Cities in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(2), pages 1-17, January.
    20. Xu, Ru-Yu & Wang, Ke-Liang & Miao, Zhuang, 2024. "The impact of digital technology innovation on green total-factor energy efficiency in China: Does economic development matter?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).

    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:gam:jsusta:v:16:y:2024:i:16:p:6833-:d:1453080. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.