City Centrality, Migrants and Green Inovation Efficiency: Evidence from 106 Cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt of China

Haisen Wang, Gangqiang Yang and Jiaying Qin
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Haisen Wang: Institute for the Development of Central China, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Gangqiang Yang: Institute for the Development of Central China, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China
Jiaying Qin: Institute for the Development of Central China, Wuhan University, Wuhan 430072, China

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 2, 1-21

Abstract: Based on the panel data of 106 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt of China from 2007 to 2016, this paper explores the impact of city centrality on the green innovation efficiency and proves the mediation effect of migrants by using spatial econometric model. The results show that there are more and more innovation contacts between cities, and the innovation network is becoming more and more dense. The core cities of the downstream innovation network are mainly Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Wuxi, Changzhou, Suzhou and Hangzhou; the core cities in the midstream are mainly Wuhan, Changsha and Yichun; the core cities in the upstream are Chengdu and Bazhong. There is an inverted U-shaped relationship between city centrality and green innovation efficiency. In addition, the influence curve of city centrality on the green innovation efficiency of surrounding cities is also inverted U-shaped. Cities with high city centrality attract a large number of migrants that come from cities with lower centrality to improve the green innovation efficiency, but the green innovation efficiency of cities with low city centrality will decline due to lack of talents.

Keywords: city centrality; green innovation efficiency; gravity model; Yangtze River Economic Belt (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (6)

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