Innovation-Driven Policy and Low-Carbon Technology Innovation: Research Driven by the Impetus of National Innovative City Pilot Policy in China

Abstract

Since 2008, China has established innovative pilot cities in batches, with green and low-carbon principles and objectives as the core of the NICP policy. Therefore, it is of great significance to accurately evaluate the driving effect of the NICP policy on low-carbon technology innovation, to expand the coverage of pilot cities in a prudent and orderly manner. The research focuses on the economic and environmental potential of the national innovative city pilot (NICP) policy. However, the relationship between the NICP policy and low-carbon technology innovation remains to be examined. This article employs a sample of 274 prefecture-level cities in China spanning the years 2003 to 2020 for research purposes, and uses a series of methods such as time-varying DID and intermediary effect models to examine the impelling impact and intricate workings of the NICP policy on low-carbon technology innovation. The study found that: (i) The NICP policy possesses the potential to impel innovation in low-carbon technology, and the impact of the policy exhibits a fluctuating yet upward trajectory over time. (ii) The NICP policy promotes low-carbon technology innovation through financial technology investment, population aggregation, and digital construction. (iii) The innovation effect of the NICP policy is significantly influenced by resource endowment and the disclosure of environmental information. The impact of the NICP policy on innovation in low-carbon technology is more pronounced in resource-based cities than non-resource-based cities, and it is particularly noteworthy in well-established resource-based cities with abundant resource endowments. The impetus generated by the NICP policy towards the innovation of low-carbon technology is notably more substantial for cities that exhibit elevated levels of environmental information disclosure. Local governments should implement active environmental information disclosure at the city level. This paper not only enriches the relevant research on low-carbon technology innovation but also provides empirical evidence for promoting the NICP policy nationwide. Additionally, it serves as a policy reference for creating innovative characteristic cities under the “dual carbon” goal.