Investigating the Spatial Spillover Effect of Transportation Infrastructure on Green Total Factor Productivity

Abstract

Green development and the high-quality economic growth model have replaced the extensive growth model in an effort to reduce the large amounts of energy consumption and pollution emissions. Green total factor productivity has become an important indicator to more accurately measure the quality of economic growth. Transportation infrastructure is a fundamental component that may effectively integrate regional resources, increase regional cooperation, and encourage the sensible use of resources, and is a key factor in increasing productivity. At present, transportation infrastructure should focus on the speed of construction and the quality level, expand the radiation range of the transportation system, improve the service level of transportation facilities, and promote the spatial coordination between transportation facilities and resources and the environment in each province. Therefore, it is of great significance to study the spatial effect of the transport infrastructure on green total factor productivity in order to understand the role of transport infrastructure and its impact on the quality of economic growth. In this study, the slacks-based measure (SBM) model and the global Malmquist–Luenberger (GML) index were used to calculate the green total factor productivity of 30 provinces in China, while the spatial effect of the transportation infrastructure on green total factor productivity was investigated based on the spatial Durbin model. At the national level, road density, railway density, and road service level show positive spillover effects. The railway service level inhibits the growth of green total factor productivity, and there is obvious regional heterogeneity in transport infrastructure construction in eastern, central, and western regions. Therefore, in the process of transportation infrastructure construction, we should not only pay attention to the scale of expansion but also pursue the quality of service. At the same time, measures such as the flow of talent and the introduction of foreign capital within the region should be constantly coordinated to promote the improvement of green total factor productivity and achieve a win–win situation between economic growth and environmental protection.