IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/wly/sustdv/v32y2024i1p1013-1036.html

Sustainable and coordinated development: Green transition as a new driving force of regional economy

Author

Listed:
  • Shengxia Xu
  • Qiang Liu
  • Jiahui Yang

Abstract

A high‐quality green transition is essential to achieving sustainable and coordinated global development. In this paper, a new method of two‐step geometric average is proposed to measure green transition, and a comprehensive framework on the relationship between sustainability and coordination via the propelling force of green transition is constructed at both the national and provincial levels. In addition, the mediating effect model and the threshold model are employed to empirically verify the mechanisms and influences. According to the results, green transition can contribute to regional economic growth at national level and to the coordinated development of regional economies at provincial level in China. Meanwhile, the non‐linear ‘U‐shaped’ relationships between green transition and regional economy are demonstrated in Asia and the eastern region of China, and spillover effect of technological innovation can indirectly promote regional development. In addition, the heterogeneity effect of green transition fully releases the dividend of economic quality and environmental governance capacity, promoting the coordinated development of regional economies. In the meantime, the driving force of green transition on regional economy is dependent on the external environment, particularly before and after the outbreak of COVID‐19, when its impact has altered substantially. Therefore, it is necessary to promote green transition via greater technological innovation efficiency, and then to restore the vitality of regional economic development; which could provide policy makers and professionals in the regional economy with information for enhancing sustainable and coordinated development.

Suggested Citation

  • Shengxia Xu & Qiang Liu & Jiahui Yang, 2024. "Sustainable and coordinated development: Green transition as a new driving force of regional economy," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 32(1), pages 1013-1036, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:wly:sustdv:v:32:y:2024:i:1:p:1013-1036
    DOI: 10.1002/sd.2717
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.2717
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1002/sd.2717?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Qiang Liu & Shengxia Xu & Xiaoli Lu, 2020. "Imbalance measurement of regional economic quality development: evidence from China," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 65(2), pages 527-556, October.
    2. Liu, Duan & Qiu, Qi & Chen, Shou, 2023. "Timeliness of technological innovation and decisions of IPO timing and pricing," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 498-519.
    3. Maddah, Majid & Ghaffari Nejad, Amir Hossein & Sargolzaei, Mostafa, 2022. "Natural resources, political competition, and economic growth: An empirical evidence from dynamic panel threshold kink analysis in Iranian provinces," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    4. Yang, Zhenbing & Shao, Shuai & Fan, Meiting & Yang, Lili, 2021. "Wage distortion and green technological progress: A directed technological progress perspective," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 181(C).
    5. Ma, Dan & Zhu, Qing, 2022. "Innovation in emerging economies: Research on the digital economy driving high-quality green development," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 801-813.
    6. Yan, Zheming & Zou, Baoling & Du, Kerui & Li, Ke, 2020. "Do renewable energy technology innovations promote China's green productivity growth? Fresh evidence from partially linear functional-coefficient models," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    7. Cheng, Zhonghua & Li, Xiang & Wang, Meixiao, 2021. "Resource curse and green economic growth," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C).
    8. Ordás Criado, C. & Valente, S. & Stengos, T., 2011. "Growth and pollution convergence: Theory and evidence," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 62(2), pages 199-214, September.
    9. Juan Antonio Samper & Amanda Schockling & Mine Islar, 2021. "Climate Politics in Green Deals: Exposing the Political Frontiers of the European Green Deal," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(2), pages 8-16.
    10. Kane, Robert F. & Peretto, Pietro F., 2020. "More apples vs. better apples: Distribution and innovation-driven growth," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    11. Jia, Fei & Ma, Xiuying & Xu, Xiangyun & Xie, Lijuan, 2020. "The differential role of manufacturing and non-manufacturing TFP growth in economic growth," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 174-183.
    12. Michael Jacobs, 2012. "Green Growth: Economic Theory and Political Discourse," GRI Working Papers 92, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    13. Sohag, Kazi & Taşkın, F. Dilvin & Malik, Muhammad Nasir, 2019. "Green economic growth, cleaner energy and militarization: Evidence from Turkey," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 1-1.
    14. Li, Jiaman & Dong, Kangyin & Dong, Xiucheng, 2022. "Green energy as a new determinant of green growth in China: The role of green technological innovation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    15. Abdelillah Hamdouch & Marc-Hubert Depret, 2010. "Policy integration strategy and the development of the 'green economy': foundations and implementation patterns," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(4), pages 473-490.
    16. Mehdi Ben Jebli & Slim Ben Youssef & Nicholas Apergis, 2019. "The dynamic linkage between renewable energy, tourism, CO2 emissions, economic growth, foreign direct investment, and trade," Latin American Economic Review, Springer;Centro de Investigaciòn y Docencia Económica (CIDE), vol. 28(1), pages 1-19, December.
    17. Ding, Jian & Liu, Baoliu & Shao, Xuefeng, 2022. "Spatial effects of industrial synergistic agglomeration and regional green development efficiency: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    18. Zhu, Xuehong & Chen, Ying & Feng, Chao, 2018. "Green total factor productivity of China's mining and quarrying industry: A global data envelopment analysis," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 1-9.
    19. Soytas, Ugur & Sari, Ramazan & Ewing, Bradley T., 2007. "Energy consumption, income, and carbon emissions in the United States," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(3-4), pages 482-489, May.
    20. Lange, Steffen & Pohl, Johanna & Santarius, Tilman, 2020. "Digitalization and energy consumption. Does ICT reduce energy demand?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    21. Song, Malin & Wang, Shuhong & Sun, Jing, 2018. "Environmental regulations, staff quality, green technology, R&D efficiency, and profit in manufacturing," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 133(C), pages 1-14.
    22. Xu Shengxia & Liu Qiang & Lu Xiaoli, 2021. "Measuring the Imbalance of Regional Development from Outer Space in China," Journal of Systems Science and Information, De Gruyter, vol. 9(5), pages 519-532, October.
    23. Juan Antonio Samper & Amanda Schockling & Mine Islar, 2021. "Climate Politics in Green Deals: Exposing the Political Frontiers of the European Green Deal," Politics and Governance, Cogitatio Press, vol. 9(2), pages 8-16.
    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. Yu, Lulu & Liu, Yang, 2025. "Education levels and high-quality economic development," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    2. Jiazhan Gao & Guihong Hua & Baofeng Huo, 2025. "Turning “green” into “gold”: A study on the impact of green finance pilot zone policy on energy carbon emission efficiency," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 129-143, February.
    3. Canfei He & Wenbo Hu & Dejie He, 2026. "How venture capital promotes urban industrial green transition: the moderating role of cross-green linkages," The Annals of Regional Science, Springer;Western Regional Science Association, vol. 75(2), pages 1-22, June.

    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. Li, Jiaman & Dong, Kangyin & Dong, Xiucheng, 2022. "Green energy as a new determinant of green growth in China: The role of green technological innovation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 114(C).
    2. Li, Jiaman & Dong, Kangyin & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Wang, Kun, 2022. "3G in China: How green economic growth and green finance promote green energy?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 1327-1337.
    3. Xu, Ru-Yu & Wang, Ke-Liang & Miao, Zhuang, 2024. "Exploring the impact of digital industry agglomeration on provincial energy efficiency in China: A panel data analysis from 2012 to 2020," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 313(C).
    4. Ma, Dan & Zhu, Qing, 2022. "Innovation in emerging economies: Research on the digital economy driving high-quality green development," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 801-813.
    5. Jiang, Kai & Xin, Baogui & Santibanez Gonzalez, Ernesto D.R., 2025. "Can industrial intelligence promote net-zero development? An analysis of resource dependence," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 78(C).
    6. Shunbin Zhong & Huafu Shen & Ziheng Niu & Yang Yu & Lin Pan & Yaojun Fan & Atif Jahanger, 2022. "Moving towards Environmental Sustainability: Can Digital Economy Reduce Environmental Degradation in China?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-23, November.
    7. Amin, Azka & bte Mohamed Yusoff, Nora Yusma & Peng, Sun & Magazzino, Cosimo & Sharif, Arshian & Kamran, Hafiz Waqas, 2025. "Driving sustainable development: The impact of energy transition, eco-innovation, mineral resources, and green growth on carbon emissions," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    8. Gina Cristina Dimian & Mihaela Maftei & Josef Jablonský & Erika Marin & Stelian Mircea Olaru, 2026. "The Influence of Digitalization on Greenhouse Gas Emissions in European Union. The Analysis of Mediating Effect of Renewable Energy Consumption," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 17(1), pages 1888-1928, February.
    9. Luyang Tang & Bangke Lu & Tianhai Tian, 2023. "The Effect of Input Digitalization on Carbon Emission Intensity: An Empirical Analysis Based on China’s Manufacturing," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-22, February.
    10. Xiujin Guo & Zhengming Wang, 2024. "How does the digital economy affect the green development of China’s industry?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 19(9), pages 1-21, September.
    11. Qi, Xiulin & Wu, Zhifang & Xu, Jinqing & Shan, Biaoan, 2023. "Environmental justice and green innovation: A quasi-natural experiment based on the establishment of environmental courts in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    12. Cecilia Enberg & Christian Ståhl, 2026. "Tangled Up in Green: A Review of Policy Analyses of the European Green Deal," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 34(2), pages 1553-1565, April.
    13. Ali Hassan & Juan Yang & Ahmed Usman & Ahmer Bilal & Sana Ullah, 2023. "Green growth as a determinant of ecological footprint: Do ICT diffusion, environmental innovation, and natural resources matter?," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 18(9), pages 1-22, September.
    14. Michael Cary, 2020. "Have greenhouse gas emissions from US energy production peaked? State level evidence from six subsectors," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 40(1), pages 125-134, March.
    15. Armand Kasztelan, 2017. "Green Growth, Green Economy and Sustainable Development: Terminological and Relational Discourse," Prague Economic Papers, Prague University of Economics and Business, vol. 2017(4), pages 487-499.
    16. Huang, Hongyun & Wang, Fengrong & Song, Malin & Balezentis, Tomas & Streimikiene, Dalia, 2021. "Green innovations for sustainable development of China: Analysis based on the nested spatial panel models," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    17. Wang, Miao & Feng, Chao, 2021. "The win-win ability of environmental protection and economic development during China's transition," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    18. Lee, Chien-Chiang & He, Zhi-Wen & Xiao, Fu, 2022. "How does information and communication technology affect renewable energy technology innovation? International evidence," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 200(C), pages 546-557.
    19. Fernández-Amador, Octavio & Francois, Joseph F. & Oberdabernig, Doris A. & Tomberger, Patrick, 2017. "Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Economic Growth: An Assessment Based on Production and Consumption Emission Inventories," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 269-279.
    20. Du, Mengfan & Zhang, Yue-Jun, 2023. "The impact of producer services agglomeration on green economic development: Evidence from 278 Chinese cities," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).

    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:wly:sustdv:v:32:y:2024:i:1:p:1013-1036. 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: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/(ISSN)1099-1719 .

    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.