The green economic impact of a green comprehensive industry agglomeration: An example from the sports industry

Abstract

The optimization of industrial structure and layout is essential for promoting the high-quality development of the regional economy. As a typical example of a green comprehensive industry, the agglomerations of the sports industry have the potential to release additional green benefits. Consequently, this paper uses the balanced panel data of 30 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions in China from 1998 to 2021 as samples and, based on the strategic background of China's dual-carbon target and the re-interpretation of the green economy, uses the Super-SBM model to re-measure the green economic efficiency of each region and applies the dynamic spatial Durbin model and the dynamic panel system GMM model to evaluate the direct effect, mediating mechanism, spatial spillover effect, and heterogeneity effect of sports industry agglomeration on the regional green economic efficiency. Empirical findings indicate that: (1) The improvement of green economic efficiency under China's dual-carbon target has the characteristics of dynamic accumulation, and there is a siphon effect between neighboring regions. (2) The effects of sports industry agglomeration on local green economy efficiency show an "inverted U-shape" with a positive spatial spillover effect on the green economy efficiency of neighboring regions; this conclusion is robust. (3) The green economy effect of sports industry agglomeration is more significant in the central and western regions, regions with strict environmental regulations, and regions with a higher willingness for resident participation in sports due to industrial density, compliance costs, and characteristics of sports industry development. (4) Sports industry agglomeration can promote regional green economy efficiency by escaping natural resource dependence and increasing healthy human capital; technological innovation, rationalization of industrial structure, and labor transfer serve as "inverted U-shaped" mediators between sports industry agglomeration and regional green economy efficiency. This study expands the meso- and spatial-level perspectives of the impact of the agglomeration of green industries and comprehensive industries on green development. It is of great theoretical and practical importance for promoting the construction of a regional green industrial system and the high-quality development of the green economy.