Further Research: Green Trade Barriers and Green Innovation

This chapter further explores the impact of green trade barriers (GTBs) on green innovation of enterprises, which can provide another dimension of supplement and expansion to the pollution emission control in the previous chapter. Compared to reducing output or short-term pollution emissions control, enhancing green innovation capability is a more fundamental and long-term planning issue for enterprises, and therefore requires high attention. To achieve this goal, we further develop a theoretical framework and conducts empirical analysis to assess the impact of GTBs on firms’ green innovation activities, using a dataset that combines several major Chinese databases. The research shows that the GTBs can stimulate green innovation by forcing firms to adopt cleaner technologies and restructure export products. It also highlights how external factors, such as the development of technology markets and intellectual property protection, influence the innovation process. Furthermore, the study finds that industries with cleaner production processes or higher green product density are more responsive to green trade barriers. The findings emphasize the importance of supportive institutional environments and tailored policy interventions to foster innovation and sustainability. Overall, the chapter provides a comprehensive theory and empirical evidence on how green trade barriers catalyze green innovation of export manufacturing enterprises.