Can Local Government’s Attention Allocated to Green Innovation Improve the Green Innovation Efficiency?—Evidence from China

Mengzhi Xu, Jixia Li, Zeyu Ping, Qianming Zhang, Tengfei Liu, Can Zhang and Huachun Wang ()
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Mengzhi Xu: School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Jixia Li: School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Zeyu Ping: School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Qianming Zhang: School of Management and Economics, Chuxiong Normal University, Chuxiong 675000, China
Tengfei Liu: School of Business Administration, The Open University of China, Beijing 100039, China
Can Zhang: School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
Huachun Wang: School of Government, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 19, 1-18

Abstract: Green innovation is an important way to integrate China’s innovation-driven strategy with sustainable development strategy. Adopting the attention-based view in policy implementation analysis, this paper constructs an analytical framework of how the local government’s attention paid to green innovation (LGA-GI) affects green innovation efficiency (GIE). Using the panel data of 30 provincial administrative regions in China from 2009 to 2020, we describe the temporal and spatial characteristics of LGA-GI, empirically test the impact of LGA-GI on GIE through two-way fixed effects models, and then compare the effects in the three stages of green innovation. The major findings are as follows: (1) the LGA-GI in China from 2009 to 2020 shows an upward trend with mild fluctuations, and peaks three times in 2012, 2016, and 2018. The spatial distribution of LGA-GI has changed from a pattern of “low in the middle” (low LGA-GI in the central region) to “continuous highs with scattered lows”. (2) LGA-GI has a significant positive effect on the overall GIE, but the effect is concentrated in the stage of knowledge absorption and commercialization, rather than in the stage of knowledge innovation. The implication of these results is that local governments need to allocate more attention to green innovation and maintain its continuity, and governments at all levels should distribute policy implementation resources based on the characteristics of different green innovation stages.

Keywords: local government attention; green innovation efficiency; two-way fixed effects model; SBM-DEA model; attention-based view (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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