Does smart city pilot improve green total factor productivity? Evidence from Chinese cities

In recent years, the construction of smart cities has gradually become an effective means of addressing urban economic and environmental challenges. Based on panel data of 249 Chinese cities from 2005 to 2020, this study uses a super-efficiency epsilon-based measure model and a Malmquist-Luenberger...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environmental science and pollution research international 2024-01, Vol.31 (5), p.7380-7395
Main Authors: Wu, Chao, Shi, Runyi, Luo, Yusen
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic Pollution
Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution
Cities
Earth and Environmental Science
Economic development
Economics
Ecotoxicology
Environment
Environmental Chemistry
Environmental Health
Environmental protection
Heterogeneity
Human capital
Productivity
Research Article
Smart cities
Technological change
Urban areas
Waste Water Technology
Water Management
Water Pollution Control
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Summary:In recent years, the construction of smart cities has gradually become an effective means of addressing urban economic and environmental challenges. Based on panel data of 249 Chinese cities from 2005 to 2020, this study uses a super-efficiency epsilon-based measure model and a Malmquist-Luenberger index to calculate the urban green total factor productivity (GTFP). Using the smart city pilot as a quasi-natural experiment, the time-varying difference-in-difference (DID) method is applied to determine the causal effect of smart city pilot on GTFP. Results show that smart city pilot increases urban GTFP in China, and a series of robust analyses have verified the reliability of the results. The heterogeneity analysis results show that the smart city pilot policy has a more significant positive effect on urban GTFP in the eastern and central regions, the high population group, and the high per capita GDP group. The mediating analysis further suggests that smart city pilot positively affects technological innovations and human capital which promotes urban GTFP. These findings are of great significance for smart city construction and coordinating the relationship between urban economic development and environmental protection.
ISSN:1614-7499
0944-1344
1614-7499
DOI:10.1007/s11356-023-31624-z