Interaction Effects between Technology-Driven Urbanization and Eco-Environment: Evidence from China’s East Zhejiang Region

Guangtong Gu and Wenjie Zhu
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Guangtong Gu: Faculty of Economics and Management, Zhejiang A&F University, Yijin St, Lin’an, Hangzhou 311300, China
Wenjie Zhu: Faculty of Economics and Management, Zhejiang A&F University, Yijin St, Lin’an, Hangzhou 311300, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 3, 1-15

Abstract: With the rapid pace of urbanization in populous regions, the conflict between economic development and eco-environment becomes increasingly notable, inducing policy makers to implement new technological solutions for regional sustainable growth. Choosing the East Zhejiang region in China as a case study, this paper reveals the interaction effects between technology-driven urbanization and eco-environment, by compiling novel indexes for factors such as the degree of urbanization, environmental pressure, environmental protection, and environmental quality from 2005 to 2014, and adopting a data-intensive systemic approach. Differing from previous literature, an inverted “U” structure and panel vector autoregressive model are constructed to show that: (i) Given the acceleration of technology-driven urbanization, its surrounding eco-environment is still likely to be under greater pressure; (ii) the relationships between technology-driven urbanization and environmental factors in different regions are heterogeneous, either with a normal U-shaped curve or an inverted U-shaped curve; and (iii) the two-way interaction effects are significantly unbalanced, with long-term contribution rates of environmental quality and pressure on urbanization to be 57.8% and 78.88%, respectively, which is higher than the reversal effect. This study provides scientific reference for urban planning and advocates that more technological innovations should be implemented to help maintain sustainable urbanization processes.

Keywords: urbanization; eco-environment; technology-driven; U-shape; interaction effects (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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