Are Economic Growth Pressures Inhibiting Green Total Factor Productivity Growth?

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to reveal the impact of economic-growth pressure on green total factor productivity (GTFP) to provide a reference for promoting green development in China. Based on the economic-growth objective-management perspective, this paper takes panel data of 249 cities in China from 2006 to 2019 as a sample, using the directional distance function and the Malmquist–Luenberger Productivity Index to measure GTFP, and then using the dual fixed-effect model to empirically analyze the impact and intrinsic mechanism of economic-growth pressure on GTFP. The results show that (1) economic-growth pressure significantly inhibits GTFP and has a significant inhibitory effect on both green-technology progress and green-technology efficiency. However, the marginal negative effect on green-technology progress is stronger. (2) The inhibition effect of economic-growth pressure on GTFP is characterized by heterogeneity of economic-growth-pressure intensity, economic-development degree, and marketization level. The greater the economic-growth-pressure intensity, the higher the economic-development degree, the lower the marketization level, and the stronger the inhibition effect of economic-growth pressure on GTFP, green-technology progress, and green-technology efficiency. (3) The pressure of economic growth significantly inhibits patent innovation of green inventions and hinders the improvement of green technological innovation, leading to stagnation or retreat of green technological progress and the obstruction of GTFP improvement. The research conclusion of this paper has certain theoretical and practical significance. Based on the findings of the study, suggestions on promoting green development via economic-growth targets are given in three aspects: reforming the promotion-assessment system of officials, rationalizing the setting of economic-growth targets, and green-invention–patent-innovation-driven development.