High-Speed Railways and Enterprise Green Innovation: Evidence from Manufacturing Industries in China

Kemei Yu, Xiandong Yang (), Hongchang Li and Lei Zhang
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Kemei Yu: Business School, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
Xiandong Yang: Business School, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China
Hongchang Li: School of Economics and Management, Beijing Jiaotong University, Beijing 100044, China
Lei Zhang: Business School, Ludong University, Yantai 264025, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 21, 1-13

Abstract: High-speed rail (HSR) makes a significant contribution to green innovation (GI), thereby supporting high-quality economic development. However, prior studies have mainly focused on the impact of HSR on regional innovation, ignored the influence on GI from the micro perspective, as well as the mechanism through which HSR affect GI. Using the data from manufacturing companies listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges during the period of 2004 to 2023, we treat HSR as a quasi-natural experiment and employ a multi-period difference-in-difference (DID) approach to explore the effect of HSR on GI. The regression results are presented as follows. (1) HSR significantly enhances GI in enterprises, and the results still hold after several robust checks. (2) HSR has a greater impact on the improvement of GI in lightly polluting SOEs of developed cities. (3) The mechanism by which HSR can improve GI is to promote the mobility of talent and alleviate financing constraints faced by enterprises. The policy recommendation is to focus on the heterogenous effect on GI in enterprises to promote the ability of sustainable development.

Keywords: high-speed railways; green innovation; manufacturing industries; financing constraints (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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