Abstract
The sustainable development and innovation-driven development system has always been a guiding ideology for the Chinese government. Therefore, research on China’s environmental regulation and regional innovation output is of great significance. Based on the provincial data of China from 2006 to 2016, this study uses many spatial econometric methods with the spatial Durbin model. We empirically analyze the relationship between environmental regulation and regional innovation output. The results show that (1) China’s regional innovation output has significant spatial cluster and differentiation. Concerning the whole country, environmental regulation has a significant negative effect on regional innovation output, but its own spatial cluster phenomenon is not significant, and there is no space spillover. (2) There are differences between environmental regulation and regional innovation output in the eastern, central and western regions, in which the negative correlation between environmental regulation in the eastern region on regional innovation output has spillover effects in the region, and the direct effect in the central region is not significant, while the results in the western region are not significantly different from the full sample results. Finally, based on the research conclusions, we apply some policy recommendations from the perspectives of diversity of environmental policy, corporate innovation incentives, government officials’ assessment, local government policy autonomy and sustainable development concept.
Highlights
Since the 1980s, the globalization and regionalization of the economy has been continued
We should insist on the concept of sustainable development and keep a balance between the environment and the economy. (II) The government should rationally allocate various environmental regulations and abandon the “one size fits all” approach
The empirical results show that there is a negative correlation between environmental regulation and regional innovation output
Summary
Since the 1980s, the globalization and regionalization of the economy has been continued. The impact of purely violent capital accumulation on economic development is constantly being weakened. Improving the efficiency of capital utilization and completing the innovation-driven economy transition have already become issues of economic development. After the “18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China”, Chinese President Xi has mentioned the concept of “new normal” on various occasions. Sustainable development has become one of the Chinese governments’ core environmental and economic policies. The Chinese government has clearly stated that the Chinese economy should shift from factor-driven and investment-driven to innovation-driven. The realization of the innovation-driven intensive economic growth mode, the construction of an innovation system, the improvement of the national innovation system, the elimination of China’s high-input and low-output production mode, and the promotion of innovation power are China’s current major issues
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