Spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of urban green innovation efficiency in Northeast China

Abstract

In the strategic context of promoting the comprehensive revitalization of Northeast China, green innovation, as the integration of the two development concepts of innovation-driven and green development, has become an essential means to promote sustainable and high-quality development in Northeast China. By constructing the Super-SBM model with undesired output and the Global Malmquist-Luenberger index model, the green innovation efficiency and green innovation total factor productivity of 34 prefecture-level cities in Northeast China from 2011 to 2020 are measured. Then the natural break point classification method, standard deviation ellipse and Dagum Gini coefficient decomposition method are used to explore their spatial and temporal evolution characteristics. Based on the measured results of green innovation efficiency and green innovation total factor productivity in Northeast China, all the cities are classified into four types: high-high, high-low, low-high and low-low. The study results show that the green innovation efficiency (GIE) of cities in the northeast region shows an excellent upward trend, and the distribution pattern of “strong in the North and weak in the South” is more prominent. The green innovation total factor productivity shows a fluctuating decline, and technical efficiency and technological progress inhibit the improvement of green innovation efficiency. The centre of gravity of efficiency has generally migrated towards the southwest, green innovation efficiency among cities has gradually tended to develop in a balanced manner, and inter-provincial differences are the primary source of spatial differences in green innovation efficiency. The study concludes that the northeast region should continuously improve its green innovation resource allocation capacity, accelerate the green transformation and upgrading of industrial structure, clarify green innovation subjects, optimize the green innovation environment and formulate differentiated development strategies to promote the synergistic development of green innovation among cities.