An empirical study on coordinated development of energy consumption structure and green total factor productivity under spatial interaction

Abstract

Existing studies have found a non-linear relationship between the energy consumption structure (ECS) and the green total factor productivity (GTFP), but their influencing factors are not yet clear. This study examines the spatial impact of existing green development measures on coordinating the ECS and the GTFP using the coupling and spatial econometric models. The research findings are as follows: (1) The coordination between the ECS and the GTFP has increased over time, and the coordination is significantly higher in economically developed cities. (2) The spatial analysis results show a significant spatial auto-correlation between the ECS and the GTFP coordination. Green development approaches such as environmental regulations, technological innovations, and industrial structure significantly contribute to the degree of coordination. Decomposition of the spatial effects shows that technological innovations significantly affect local and neighbouring cities. These conclusions hold after endogeneity and robustness tests. The results suggest that local governments in city clusters should promote environmental regulations, industrial structure, and technological innovations to promote the coordinated development of the ECS and the GTFP of urban agglomerations.