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The National Civilized City campaign and corporate green innovation: evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China

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  • Jiawei Liu

    (Nanjing Forestry University)

  • Wei Xu

    (Sun Yat-Sen University)

  • Zhongsheng Zhou

    (Soochow University)

Abstract

Using manually collected data on national civilized cities in China and firm-level data on corporate green innovation, this study investigates the impact of urban governance competition on corporate green innovation behavior using the National Civilized City campaign in China since 2005 as a quasi-natural experiment. It finds that urban governance competition can trigger corporate green innovation through the National Civilized City campaign. The results are robust to control endogenous problems via the placebo test, propensity scores matching (PSM) design, and staggered difference-in-difference (DID) approach. In additional analyses, we find that the positive relationship is more pronounced in resource-intensive industries, state-owned enterprises, and enterprises with decentralized CEOs. Finally, we investigated the mechanisms of corporate green innovation promoted by the National Civilized City policy and find that the National Civilized City campaign could strengthen government environmental regulations, increase green subsidies, and enhance the administrative efficiency of the local government. By presenting China's experience in this domain, this study provides insights for stimulating corporate green innovation activities from the perspective of urban governance competition, which could also inform urban green governance initiatives in other developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Jiawei Liu & Wei Xu & Zhongsheng Zhou, 2025. "The National Civilized City campaign and corporate green innovation: evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 74(1), pages 1-44, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:anresc:v:74:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s00168-024-01333-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s00168-024-01333-7
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    JEL classification:

    • G38 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Government Policy and Regulation
    • O32 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

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