Level Of Technological Innovation Research Articles

The Impact of Local Government Environmental Target Constraints on the Performance of Heavy Pollution Industries

The world is plagued by difficult problems such as ecological degradation and resource depletion. This study utilizes data from 664 Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share listed enterprises in the heavy pollution industry from 2007 to 2019; this paper constructs a two-way fixed effects panel model and a mediated effect model to test the relevant effects of local government environmental target constraints (LGETCs) on the performance of heavy pollution enterprises (HPEs). The main findings are as follows: First, LGETCs significantly inhibit the short-term performance of HPEs. Second, LGETCs have a heterogeneous impact on the short-term performance of HPEs based on regional, industry, and firm ownership differences. This sentence suggests that local environmental targets can exert a restraining effect on the short-term performance of heavily polluting companies by influencing factors such as financial constraints, agency costs, and levels of technological innovation. In this context, financial constraints and agency costs act as mediating factors, while corporate technological innovation and green technological innovation act as masking factors in this relationship. The sentence appears to suggest that local environmental targets can indirectly have a positive impact on the long-term performance of heavily polluting companies through innovative incentives. Furthermore, the research in this article provides theoretical support for local government efforts to address deteriorating ecological environments and expedite energy conservation and emission reduction in heavily polluting companies.

The Impact of the Digital Economy on the Optimization of Industrial Structure: An Empirical Study Based on the Intermediary Role of Technological Innovation

The digital economy has become an important path for the transformation and upgrading of industrial structure. Technological innovation, as the primary driving force for development, is a key entry point in analyzing this issue. This paper conducts empirical analysis based on Panel data of 31 provinces in China from 2011-2021, and constructs Mesomeric effect and moderating effect models. Research has found that the development of the digital economy has a significant promoting effect on the rationalization of industrial structure; The digital economy can promote the improvement of technological innovation level; From a national perspective, the level of technological innovation reflects the masking effect in the process of promoting industrial structure rationalization in the digital economy, and this conclusion is still valid after robustness testing.Based on this, we need to strengthen the construction of digital infrastructure, rely on the digital economy to stimulate independent innovation and technological transformation level, and promote the upgrading of industrial structure.

THE POLICY EFFECT OF CARBON EMISSIONS TRADING ON GREEN TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION — EVIDENCE FROM MANUFACTURING ENTERPRISES IN CHINA

Based on the panel data of listed Chinese manufacturing enterprises from 2007 to 2019, this study uses the difference-in-differences-based propensity score matching method (PSM-DID) to explore the policy effect of carbon emissions trading on green technology innovation in manufacturing from the perspective of independent innovation of enterprises. The conclusions of this study show that: (1) Carbon emissions trading has significantly improved the level of green technology innovation of manufacturing enterprises; (2) the policy effect of carbon emissions trading on the green patent application is more than twice as much as on green utility model patent application. Compared with green utility model patent, the pilot policy of carbon emissions trading has a more significant and greater policy effect on the green invention patent application; (3) the private enterprises are more sensitive to the pilot policy of carbon emissions trading than state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The carbon emissions trading in China effectively promotes low-carbon and green development of enterprises.

Impact of demonstration zone policy on agricultural science and technology innovation: evidence from China

As driving forces in agricultural development, science and technology, along with innovation in agricultural science and technology, are crucial to food security and socioeconomic development. The National Modern Agricultural Demonstration Zone is a major initiative of the Chinese government to promote the modernization of agriculture with Chinese characteristics and aims to improve the level of regional agricultural development through policy guidance and financial support. However, few studies have explored the impact of the National Modern Agricultural Demonstration Zone on agricultural science and technology innovation from a policy perspective. In this context, this study is based on the panel data of 696 regions in China from 2007 to 2017. Difference-in-differences is used to study the impact and mechanism of the National Modern Agricultural Demonstration Zone on agricultural science and technology innovation. The results show that the National Modern Agricultural Demonstration Zone policy can significantly improve the level of agricultural science and technology innovation, and the impact effect is more significant in regions with high fiscal autonomy, western regions, and those with better transportation infrastructure. Mechanism analysis shows that the National Modern Agricultural Demonstration Zone enhances agricultural science and technology innovation mainly through increasing financial resource allocation, improving financial support for agriculture, and increasing human capital. This study evaluates the policy effects, provides theoretical support for the public value of the National Modern Agricultural Demonstration Zone, and offers lessons for agricultural science and technology innovation in similar economies in China and worldwide.

What Information Do We Have on the Government's Environmental Management?

As one of the important pillars of China's industrial sector, the mining industry is critical to China's modernization and energy security. Based on China's provincial panel data, this paper collects the information on government's environmental management and estimates the impact of environmental regulation on China's mining industry's energy and carbon performance. The study further collects information on the industries' technological innovation and analyzes the technological innovation's moderating effect on environmental regulation. The research results indicate that the interconnection between the intensity of environmental regulations and the energy and carbon performance of the mining industry is inverted U-shaped, and mining enterprises with high levels of technological innovation have better adaptability when facing pressure from external environmental regulations. Regarding policy recommendations, it is imperative that the government should enhance the environmental policy framework, develop clean energy, and incentivize mining firms to advance technological innovation.

Heterogeneous effect of digital economy on carbon emission reduction

The vigorous development of the digital economy (DIEC) offers a substantial potential for China and global economies to realize the goal of “double carbon”. This study attempts to analyze the heterogeneous effect of DIEC on carbon emission reduction (CERE), in order to extend a valuable reference for effectively achieving the dual-carbon goal. Accordingly, the effect of DIEC on carbon emission scale (CESC) and carbon emission intensity (CEIN) are examined in this paper by using dual fixed effect model and intermediate effect model, respectively. The study findings show that, at first, DIEC significantly supports the CERE while significantly constraining the uplift in CESC and CEIN. Simultaneously, the CERE effect of DIEC contains digital economy dimensional heterogeneity, industry heterogeneity, production and life heterogeneity, and urban-rural heterogeneity. Finally, the DIEC boosts the technological innovation (TEIN) and residents' income (REIN) levels, in order to heighten the CERE. Further, improving invention technology innovation and TEIN is more conducive to catalyzing the reduction of carbon emission in the whole society and the production field. Conversely, the improvement of non-invention technology innovation and rural- and urban residents’ income impedes CERE in the field of life. Thus, the implications of this study are of vital significance for China and the rest of the world to foster CERE and achieve the “dual carbon” goal through DIEC development.

Threshold effect of technological innovation on carbon emission intensity based on multi-source heterogeneous data

It is of much importance to clarify the impact of technological innovation on carbon emission intensity for the low-carbon transformation of China's economy. This study, based on the panel data of 30 Chinese provinces and municipalities from 2010 to 2020, measures and analyzes the carbon emission intensity and the level of technological innovation, establishing a spatial econometric model to study the spatial spillover effect and a panel threshold model to analyze the nonlinear influence of technological innovation level on carbon emission intensity. The findings are as follows: First, the overall carbon emission intensity in China shows a decreasing trend from 2010 to 2020, with the average dropping from 3.09 in 2010 to 1.98 in 2020; Second, the spatial autocorrelation results reveal that the level of technological innovation and carbon emission intensity in China are obviously aggregated in the global spatial distribution pattern. Third, the regression results of the spatial econometric model show that the direct effect of technological innovation on carbon emission intensity is significantly negative at the level of 1%, that is, the improvement of the technological innovation in a certain area has a significant inhibitory effect on carbon emission intensity. Fourth, based on the level of economic development, there is a significant three-threshold effect of the level of technological innovation on carbon emission intensity in China, and the influence of the level of technological innovation on carbon emission intensity varies in the direction of existence and coefficient values within different threshold intervals. As economic development reaches the third interval, the technological innovation level has the most significant inhibition on carbon emission intensity. These findings enriches the research of the nonlinear relationship between technological innovation and carbon emission intensity, clarifies the spatial spillover effect and threshold effect between among them, and provides inspiration for better promote the low-carbon transformation of economy.

A study on the impact of the carbon emissions trading policy on the mining industry based on Porter hypothesis

In order to take Chinese actions and contribute Chinese wisdom to the fight against global climate change, China launched the carbon emissions trading policy (CETP) in 2011, thereby accumulating advanced experience in utilizing market mechanisms to reduce CO2 emissions and help reduce pollution. Mining is an irreplaceable pillar industry of the national economy. In the context of China's economic development shifting from high-speed growth to high-quality development, there is an urgent need to promote green and low-carbon development in the mining industry. The mining industry consumes a lot of energy and generates a lot of carbon emissions during extraction and processing. The CETP, which is one of the important regulatory tools for reducing carbon, will certainly have a huge impact on the green, low-carbon development of the mining industry. We use relevant data from 31 provinces and regions in China from 2006 to 2019, takes the CETP introduced in 2011 in seven provinces and cities as a quasi-natural experiment, and applies the difference-in-difference model (DID) to explore the Porter effect of the CETP on the mining industry. The robustness of the predictions is measured using the placebo test, the test of the alternative variable, and the test of the exclusion of the relevant policies in the same period. The results show that the CETP significantly reduced the business performance of the mining industry and did not increase the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of the mining industry but increased the level of science and technology innovation (STI) in the pilot provinces. That is, the impact of the CETP on the mining industry is consistent with the weak Porter hypothesis. The study results show that improving the CETP will significantly promote the realization of China's mining industry's green, low-carbon, and high-quality development. The state should support and subsidize mining enterprises that meet environmental regulation standards and increase their motivation to protect the environment. The government should increase environmental enforcement to ensure the effective implementation of the CETP. Mining enterprises should promote scientific and technological innovation and enhance their technological innovation capacity.

A COMPARISON OF THE FINANCIAL SECTOR AND MACROECONOMIC PERFORMANCE USING TURNING POINTS ANALYSIS

Loss of financial potential is one of the most serious risks enterprises face. The risk management system for the loss of financial potential helps enterprises identify, evaluate and manage risks that may affect their financial condition. This system allows enterprises to reduce the possibility of financial losses andensures more efficient work with financial resources. The purpose of the article is to identify the main imperatives, which are the basis for ensuring the development of financial potential and the justification of measures to neutralise the risks of business entities in the agricultural sector in Ukraine. The main sources of loss of financial potential of enterprises in the agricultural sector of the economy of Ukraine have been identified. It has been established that currently, the biggest threats are: low business activity, a low level of technological equipment and innovation, negative profitability and slow turnover of capital, lack of access to credit for small- and medium-sized enterprises and climate changes. Agricultural enterprises are subject to various risks of loss of financial potential, which may be associated with changes in weather conditions, animal epidemics, changes in legislation, currency risks, etc. Neutralisation of these risks is an important element of effective management of an agricultural enterprise and ensuring its stability. It has been proven that one of the ways to neutralise risks is to create a reserve fund in case of unexpected events that may lead to the loss of financial potential. Such a fund may include funds that can be used for replanting crops, repairing infrastructure, reimbursing losses from animal epidemics and other needs. It is proposed to minimise the risks with the help of insurance. Insurance can be provided at different levels: from crop insurance to emergency insurance. Having insurance allows the company to reduce financial losses in case of unexpected events. In addition, the enterprise can use financial instruments to reduce currency risks. These tools will enable you to protect the company from changes in exchange rates.

RISK MANAGEMENT OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF FINANCIAL POTENTIAL OF BUSINESS ENTITIES

Loss of financial potential is one of the most serious risks enterprises face. The risk management system for the loss of financial potential helps enterprises identify, evaluate and manage risks that may affect their financial condition. This system allows enterprises to reduce the possibility of financial losses andensures more efficient work with financial resources. The purpose of the article is to identify the main imperatives, which are the basis for ensuring the development of financial potential and the justification of measures to neutralise the risks of business entities in the agricultural sector in Ukraine. The main sources of loss of financial potential of enterprises in the agricultural sector of the economy of Ukraine have been identified. It has been established that currently, the biggest threats are: low business activity, a low level of technological equipment and innovation, negative profitability and slow turnover of capital, lack of access to credit for small- and medium-sized enterprises and climate changes. Agricultural enterprises are subject to various risks of loss of financial potential, which may be associated with changes in weather conditions, animal epidemics, changes in legislation, currency risks, etc. Neutralisation of these risks is an important element of effective management of an agricultural enterprise and ensuring its stability. It has been proven that one of the ways to neutralise risks is to create a reserve fund in case of unexpected events that may lead to the loss of financial potential. Such a fund may include funds that can be used for replanting crops, repairing infrastructure, reimbursing losses from animal epidemics and other needs. It is proposed to minimise the risks with the help of insurance. Insurance can be provided at different levels: from crop insurance to emergency insurance. Having insurance allows the company to reduce financial losses in case of unexpected events. In addition, the enterprise can use financial instruments to reduce currency risks. These tools will enable you to protect the company from changes in exchange rates.

Coupling coordination evaluation and driving path of digital economy and carbon emission efficiency in China: A fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis based on 30 provinces.

Enhancing the level of coupling coordination between the digital economy (DIE) and carbon emission efficiency (CEE) is not only an inevitable choice for achieving the goals of energy conservation and emission reduction and promoting green development in China, but also a key path to implementing China's "Double Carbon" strategy. Based on the relevant statistical data of 30 provincial-level regions in China from the period covering 2011 to 2019, this paper empirically analyzed the coupling coordination between the DIE and CEE and its influencing factors. In this study, an improved coupling coordination degree (CCD) model was used to evaluate the degree of the coupling and coordinated development of the DIE and CEE in provincial regions of China. Finally, based on the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) method was employed to identify the realization path of the coupling and coordinated development of the DIE and CEE from the perspective of configuration. The results demonstrated that the coupling coordination between the DIE and CCE in China demonstrated a gradual upward trend, and exhibited regional differences, showing a decreasing trend of east > middle > west. Regarding the influencing factors, no single influencing factor could act as a necessary condition for the high CCD, the coupling and coordinated development of the DIE and CEE is a multifactorial synergy. There were five paths for the high degree of coupling coordination between the DIE and CEE, which were divided into three types: organization-environment-led type, environment-led type, and technology-organization-led type. Furthermore, technological innovation level and industrial structure could substitute for one another in some conditions, and environmental regulation and economic development level were synchronized. These conclusions provide a theoretical basis for countries to formulate policies to promote the coupling and coordinated development of their DIE and CEE.

Digital inclusive finance, agricultural green technology innovation and agricultural carbon emissions: Impact mechanism and empirical test.

The impact of digital financial inclusion (If) and agricultural technology innovation (Gi) on agricultural carbon emissions has attracted wide attention from the academic community, but the inconsistent conclusions of existing studies and the reality that few studies have gathered them into a framework require more evidence to fill this gap, which can contribute more insights to promoting economic development and controlling carbon emissions. Taking the provincial-level relevant data of China's agriculture from 2011 to 2020 as a sample, the GMM method is used to integrally test the relationship between the three factors. The results show that (1) from 2011 to 2020, China's overall agricultural carbon emissions experienced two stages of fluctuating rise (2011-2015) and continuous decline (2015-2020). In 2015, China's agricultural carbon emissions peaked at 1,040 million tons; Overall, Hunan, Hubei, and Henan were the provinces with the largest agricultural carbon emissions; Beijing, Tianjin, and Shanghai are provinces with relatively low agricultural carbon emissions. (2) Although the impact of digital financial inclusion on agricultural carbon emissions is negative, it is not significant. (3) Agricultural technology innovation promoted the reduction of agricultural carbon emissions. If the level of agricultural technology innovation increased by 1 percentage point, agricultural carbon emissions would decrease by 0.09 percentage points. (4) Mechanism analysis showed that agricultural technology innovation could reduce carbon emissions through the efficiency of agricultural resource allocation, and its effect reached 56%. The results can provide a scientific basis for the government to formulate targeted policies, and the methods can be extended to other places.

How Can the Digital Economy Promote the Integration of Rural Industries—Taking China as an Example

The rapid development of China’s digital economy has promoted the digital transformation of Chinese society and become a new driving force for China’s social development. Furthermore, increasing farmers’ income is the central task of China’s “three rural issues” project, and the integrated development of primary, secondary, and tertiary rural industries is an important way to revitalize rural industries and broaden farmers’ income channels, so it is very important to promote the integrated development of rural industries. In the context of the rapid development of China’s digital economy, it is of great significance to study how the digital economy promotes the integration of rural industries. Therefore, this study analyzed how China’s digital economy promotes the integration of rural industries by using the panel data and regression models of 30 provinces (municipalities and districts) in China from 2011 to 2021. The results show that (1) there is a significant positive relationship between the development level of the digital economy and the level of rural–industrial integration and that the development of the digital economy promotes the process of rural–industrial integration; (2) intermediary effect analysis shows that as the digital economy promotes rural–industrial integration, scientific and technological innovation levels and rural human capital are important intermediary channels; and (3) spatial analysis shows that the development of the digital economy can not only promote the integration of rural industries in the province but also have a positive spatial spillover effect on neighboring provinces. Therefore, it is necessary to create a good atmosphere for the development of the digital economy, constantly promote the development of the digital economy, pay attention to scientific and technological innovation and rural talent training, and promote the integration and coordinated development of the digital economy and rural industries between regions in order to improve the level of rural–industrial integration and contribute to the rural revitalization strategy.

Mechanism and Empirical Evidence of Green Taxation Influencing Carbon Emissions in China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt

Based on the panel data of 100 cities in China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2010 to 2020 and the extended STIRPAT model, this paper uses SYS-GMM to empirically study the impact of green taxation on carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Then, it explores the effect path of green taxation on regional carbon emissions using the intermediary effect model and analyzes the threshold characteristics of the influence of urban greening level on the regional carbon emissions of green taxation using the threshold effect model. The results show that, (1) from 2010 to 2020, the carbon emissions in China’s Yangtze River Economic Belt showed a slow rising trend, and carbon emissions in the lower reaches were significantly higher than those in the middle and upper reaches. (2) Green taxation can significantly suppress carbon emissions in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. However, green taxation has the weakest inhibitory effect on carbon emissions in the upstream region and is slightly stronger in the middle reaches, with the strongest inhibitory effect on carbon emission in the downstream region. (3) From the perspective of the action path, the level of green technology innovation has a significant partial mediating effect. Green taxation mainly realizes carbon emission reductions by improving the level of urban green technology innovation, and its intermediary effect accounts for 17.6% of the total effect of green taxation on regional carbon emissions and 15.6% of the total effect of green taxation on per capita carbon emission intensity. (4) Further research shows that the emission reduction effect of green taxation is also influenced by the level of urban greening, showing a single threshold effect. Before reaching the threshold value, the inhibition effect of green taxation on carbon emission levels is relatively strong, and after crossing the threshold value, the inhibition effect is weakened.

Revisiting the linkage between green finance and China’s sustainable development: evidence from the pilot zones for green finance reform innovations

Based on the fundamental logic of “green finance – improvement of ecological environment and new kinetic energy of economic development – sustainable development of economy and society”, this paper conducts quasi-natural experiments using panel data from 30 provinces and cities in China between 2013 and 2021. It explores the effects of pilot policies of the green finance reform and innovation pilot zone on the sustainable development of the economy and society through a double difference model. The study reveals that the establishment of the green finance reform and innovation pilot zone has a significant promoting effect on the sustainable development of the economy and society. This conclusion remains valid even after conducting a series of robustness tests. In further analysis, it is found that the promotion effect of the green finance reform and innovation pilot zone on sustainable development exhibits some temporal characteristics. It is particularly significant in regions with lower levels of financial development and industrialization but higher levels of technological innovation. Mechanism analysis indicates that the pathways through which the green finance reform and innovation pilot zone facilitates economic and social sustainable development are relatively singular, primarily revolving around the improvement of the ecological environment. The key contribution of this paper lies in demonstrating the crucial role of pilot policies in the field of sustainable economic and social development. Additionally, it offers new insights for strengthening the implementation effectiveness of green finance pilot policies.

Innovativeness and Business Process Planning of Startups in the Context of Green Energy Transition

The aim of the artice. Taking into account the urgent need of rebuilding the national economy and energy system after the war destruction on the principles of green energy transition, it is extremely important to develop the startup movement in the field of alternative & renewable energy. The active implementation of the principles of an innovation-oriented circular economy requires significant and well-thought-out reforms in both economic relations and technology advancement. In this context, it is important to actively implement the concept of sustainable development, ensure the promotion of environmentally friendly goods and services on the market, and minimize the consumption of traditional fossil fuels, as well as the use of agricultural land for growing fuel crops. Thus, the purpose of the study is to analyze the innovativeness of business processes of national startups in the field of green alternative energy and to substantiate the peculiarities of business planning of environmentally friendly startup projects in the context of the green energy transition (also associated with the concepts of the renewable energy transition and the green deal). Analysis results. The paper explores business processes in the field of green startups, describes in detail the author's Bioenergy-Startup project, and substantiates its Business Model Canvas. The Bioenergy-Startup project has a positive environmental and economic effect and makes it possible to significantly reduce toxicant emissions from vehicle engines and diesel-fueled boiler plants. The project is also aimed at greening the country's economy by reducing the technogenic load on agricultural land through the use of fat-containing production waste, promoting the rational use of natural resources, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as the emissions of so-called black carbon. Using the Bioenergy-Startup project as an example, the authors proposed a framework for implementing a startup, starting from the creation of the Business Model Canvas and taking into account the levels of technological innovation and risks. In creating this framework, the authors took into account, in particular, the Customer Development and Lean Startup methodologies, the work of domestic scientists, as well as their own experience in the field of innovative entrepreneurship. During the implementation of the Bioenergy-Startup project, one of the main tasks from the marketing point of view was to create and communicate to the target audience significant competitive environmentally friendly advantages that are not only consistent with the concept of sustainable development and a green (circular) economy but also provide an opportunity to save valuable natural resources, promote the decarbonization of industry and transport, prevent climate change on the planet, etc. Conclusions and directions for further research. To accomplish this task, the authors have developed a marketing strategy for promoting the innovative products of the Bioenergy-Startup, as well as a specific algorithm for promoting the startup's innovative products, a schematic representation of which is given in the paper.

Measurement of the Development Level of Cross-border E-Commerce in China's Provinces

In the context of the weak growth of traditional foreign trade, cross-border e-commerce has become an important means for Chinese enterprises to carry out international trade, and has played an important role in promoting the stable growth and structural adjustment of China's foreign trade. This paper selects sample data of 31 provinces in China from 2014-2021, and measures the level of cross-border e-commerce development in China's provinces using factor analysis from 22 subdivision indicators in three dimensions: infrastructure, cross-border e-commerce application degree and environmental support. The study of measuring and evaluating the level of cross-border e-commerce development in China's provinces helps to further identify the level and spatial differentiation of cross-border e-commerce development in each region of China, make horizontal comparisons of the development levels of different regions, and provide a scientific basis for formulating e-commerce policies from the perspective of spatial differentiation and economic development. The empirical results show that the overall cross-border e-commerce development in China's provinces maintains a good growth trend, but there is a large gap in the level of cross-border e-commerce development among different regions, with Guangdong, Beijing, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Shandong belonging to the first echelon of cross-border e-commerce development, while western provinces such as Tibet, Ningxia and Qinghai are lagging behind in cross-border e-commerce development, and there is a significant gap in the level of cross-border e-commerce development among the eastern, central and western regions. Factor analysis also shows that the digitalization level of cross-border e-commerce enterprises, the level of technological innovation, express delivery, the number of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones and other cross-border e-commerce development environment have a greater impact on the level of cross-border e-commerce development, to improve the level of cross-border e-commerce development, we should take the declaration and construction of cross-border e-commerce comprehensive pilot zones as a grasp to point and surface; we should pay attention to the main position of enterprises in cross-border e-commerce development, and give financial, talent, technical and other support to cross-border e-commerce enterprises. We should pay attention to the environment construction and optimization of cross-border e-commerce development, pay attention to the linkage of industrial development between regions, play a complementary role between regions, and promote the further development of cross-border e-commerce.

Spatio–Temporal Evolutionary Features and Drivers of Green Competitiveness of Cities Surrounding the Yellow River

Based on the scientific concept of city green competitiveness, an integrated evaluation indicator system was established to use the entropy method in order to measure the green competitiveness index of 78 cities surrounding the Yellow River (YR) from 2006 to 2020. Further, the spatio–temporal features and drivers of city green competitiveness were analyzed using various methods. The research found the following: (1) Although the green competitiveness of cities surrounding the YR has been growing steadily, the overall level is not high. (2) The green competitiveness of cities surrounding the YR can be spatially characterized as “downstream > midstream > upstream”; the absolute and relative differences between cities are both increasing, and overall differences stem mainly from the hypervariable density. (3) The positive spatial correlation between the green competitiveness of cities surrounding the YR is significant, with the “cold spot” in southeastern Gansu and the “hot spot” in the Shandong Peninsular city cluster. (4) The level of city infrastructure construction, the level of urbanization, and science and technology innovation are the main drivers of the green competitiveness of cities surrounding the YR. In addition, the interaction forces of each factor were found to be much stronger than the effects of individual factors.

Assessing the Impact of Banks’ High-Tech Investments on Efficiency: What Is the Actual Relationship Direction?

This paper analyses whether there is any relationship between the efficiency level achieved by Euro Area banking groups and their attitude toward high-tech investments proxied by high-tech patents. We measure banking efficiency via Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). The period considered is the decade between 2012 and 2021. The results obtained show that there is a generally negative relationship between the two topics under investigation. The evidence obtained justifies the importance of an appropriate level of attention by regulators since increasing levels of technological innovation pursued through significant growth in intangible assets, could negatively affect the overall financial system efficiency.

Research on the Impact of Green Finance on Carbon Emission

Provincial panel data from 2001-2019 are selected to construct a mediation effect model with green technology innovation as the entry point to explore the effect of green finance on carbon emissions. The study shows that: (1) the development of green finance can significantly inhibit carbon dioxide emissions, and the higher the carbon dioxide emissions, the better the inhibition effect of green financial development on carbon emissions; (2) in the eastern and central regions of China, the development of green finance have played an obvious inhibition effect on carbon dioxide emissions, and the inhibition effect on carbon emissions in the central region is stronger than that in the eastern region; (3) the level of green technology innovation There is a mediating effect in the improvement effect of green finance on carbon emissions, and the mediating effect accounts for 41.47%.