The temporal and spatial patterns and contributing factors of green development in the Chinese service industry

Abstract

The service industry has become the driving force of Chinese economic development. Promoting the green and high-quality development of the service industry is of great significance to the realization of the “dual carbon” goal. The current studies use the DEA-Malmquist index method to measure the green total factor productivity of the service industry in 31 provinces and cities in China from 2009 to 2019. The spatial correlation characteristics and contributing factors to the green development of the service industry are analyzed through the social network analysis method. Our results show that the added value of the service industry accounts for a high proportion of GDP. However, the service industries are not green enough due to their large low added value and high energy consumption sections. The green development of the service industry shows complex spatial correlation characteristics, and the service industry in the eastern province is the core of the spatial network. The bridge mediating effect of green development of the service industry in the southern region is significant. The green development of the service sector has a significant spatial spillover effect, and no region can be good alone in green development. Provinces should cooperate to promote green development in the service industry.