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Promoting or inhibiting? The impact of supporting policy for resource-exhausted cities on corporate green technology innovation: evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Jing Yang

    (East China University of Science and Technology)

  • Hongan Chen

    (East China University of Science and Technology)

  • Huan Jin

    (Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications)

  • Yalin Jiang

    (Nanjing Audit University)

Abstract

Promoting green technology innovation (GTI) is a critical pathway to concurrently address economic development and environmental conservation. Thus, could the supporting policies implemented in resource-exhausted cities foster local firms’ GTI? To investigate this question, we collect the data of Chinese listed manufacturing companies from 2003 to 2018, take the “supporting policy for resource-exhausted cities (SPREC)” as a quasi-natural experiment, and apply the DID methodology with multiple time periods to examine how the SPREC effects firms’ GTI. Our findings reveal a significant inhibitory effect of SPREC on firms’ GTI, and this effect is achieved through mechanisms that involve the alleviation of financing constraints, an increase in the proportion of fixed assets, the escalation of rent-seeking costs, and the suppression of R&D expenditures. In the heterogeneity analysis, we discover that the SPREC has a more obvious inhibitive role in GTI of companies that are state-owned, located in the mid-western area, or under a lower degree of marketization. However, it shows a considerable promotion impact on the GTI of companies that are under a higher level of marketization. This study enhances our comprehension of SPREC’s impacts and offers empirical evidence advocating for the advancement of green and sustainable development in resource-exhausted cities.

Suggested Citation

  • Jing Yang & Hongan Chen & Huan Jin & Yalin Jiang, 2025. "Promoting or inhibiting? The impact of supporting policy for resource-exhausted cities on corporate green technology innovation: evidence from China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 8495-8524, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:27:y:2025:i:4:d:10.1007_s10668-023-04242-5
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-023-04242-5
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