IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/pal/palcom/v12y2025i1d10.1057_s41599-025-05225-9.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The impact of resource misallocation on green technology innovation: evidence from 288 cities in China

Author

Listed:
  • Huiping Wang

    (Xi’an University of Finance and Economics)

  • Xinge Guo

    (Xi’an University of Finance and Economics)

Abstract

Resource misallocation, as a key characteristic of China’s ongoing reform process, has emerged as a significant barrier to high-quality economic development. This paper discusses the impact of capital and labor misallocation on green technology innovation (GTI) from the resource allocation perspective. The panel data of 288 Chinese cities from 2009 to 2022 are used to empirically test the effects of capital misallocation and labor misallocation on GTI and to further analyze urban heterogeneity and the moderating effect of environmental regulation. The study reveals that there is an inverted U-shaped relationship between resource misallocation and GTI. That is, a slight misallocation of capital and labor due to market mechanisms and government regulations has a promoting effect on GTI. However, when misallocation reaches a certain level, it significantly inhibits GTI. In eastern China, the capital misallocation’s impact on GTI is more significant, while in central and western China, the labor misallocation’s on GTI is more significant. Only in small cities is there an inverted U-shaped relationship between labor misallocation and GTI. In non-resource cities, a reversed U-shaped pattern emerges between capital misallocation and GTI, whereas in resource cities, the two exhibit a U-shaped relationship. Environmental regulation can strengthen the inverted U-shaped relationship between capital misallocation and GTI.

Suggested Citation

  • Huiping Wang & Xinge Guo, 2025. "The impact of resource misallocation on green technology innovation: evidence from 288 cities in China," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 12(1), pages 1-13, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-05225-9
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-025-05225-9
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41599-025-05225-9
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1057/s41599-025-05225-9?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.

    More about this item

    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:pal:palcom:v:12:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-025-05225-9. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.nature.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.