The Impact of New-Quality Productivity on Environmental Pollution: Empirical Evidence from China

Liugang Ye () and Zhenhua Fang
Additional contact information
Liugang Ye: School of Economics, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China
Zhenhua Fang: School of Economics, Guangdong Ocean University, Zhanjiang 524088, China

Sustainability, 2025, vol. 17, issue 7, 1-21

Abstract: Based on panel data from 30 Chinese provinces from 2012 to 2022, this study empirically examines the impact of new-quality productivity on environmental pollution and explores the underlying mechanisms. A multidimensional index system is constructed to measure new-quality productivity, incorporating new laborers, new labor materials, new labor objects, new technologies, new production organizations, and new data elements. The results indicate that the development of new-quality productivity significantly reduces environmental pollution levels, a conclusion that remains robust after a series of robustness and endogeneity tests. Mechanism analysis reveals that green finance plays a partial mediating role in the pollution-reducing effect of new-quality productivity, with the mediating effect accounting for 11.7%. Regional heterogeneity analysis shows that the environmental improvement effect of new-quality productivity is significant in the eastern and northeastern regions but relatively weaker in the central and western regions. Based on these findings, this study proposes a three-pronged policy framework that integrates “factor upgrading, mechanism innovation, and region-specific adaptation”, emphasizing the enhancement of new-quality productivity, the development of green finance, and regionally differentiated development strategies to better mitigate environmental pollution. This study provides empirical evidence on the environmental governance effects of new-quality productivity and offers theoretical insights for developing countries seeking to resolve the “growth-pollution” paradox and optimize regional green transition pathways.

Keywords: new-quality productivity; green finance; environmental pollution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/7/3230/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/7/3230/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:7:p:3230-:d:1628338

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().