School of Economics and Management, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China.
Center for Environmental Management and Economics Policy Research, China University of Mining and Technology, Xuzhou, 221116, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Jan;30(4):10444-10456. doi: 10.1007/s11356-022-22868-2. Epub 2022 Sep 8.
Informal environmental regulation plays an important role in green innovation, which is of great significance to realize the win-win situation between environmental protection and economic development. However, few studies have focused on the incentive effect of informal environmental regulation on innovation motivation. Based on the panel data of 286 cities from 2003 to 2018, the DID (difference-in-differences) model is used to investigate the impact of pollution Information Transparency Index (PITI) published by ENGOs (Environmental Non-governmental Organizations) on substantive green innovation. The results show that PITI disclosure has a significant positive and robust effect on substantive green innovation in China. Additionally, heterogeneous analysis shows that key environmental protection and highly innovative cities benefit more from PITI disclosure. The effect in the second stage is stronger than in the first stage. Mechanism analysis shows that PITI disclosure enhances substantive green innovation through FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) and human capital channels. Based on the above conclusions, three policy implications are put forward in this paper.
非正式环境规制在绿色创新中发挥着重要作用，对于实现环境保护与经济发展的双赢具有重要意义。然而，很少有研究关注非正式环境规制对创新动机的激励效应。本文基于 2003 年至 2018 年的 286 个城市面板数据，采用 DID（双重差分）模型，考察了由环保非政府组织（ENGOs）发布的污染信息透明度指数（PITI）对实质性绿色创新的影响。结果表明，PITI 披露对中国实质性绿色创新具有显著的正向和稳健影响。异质性分析表明，重点环保城市和高创新城市从 PITI 披露中获益更多。第二阶段的效果强于第一阶段。机制分析表明，PITI 披露通过外国直接投资（FDI）和人力资本渠道促进了实质性绿色创新。基于上述结论，本文提出了三条政策启示。
