School of Economics and Management, Xiamen University of Technology, Xiamen, 361024, Fujian, People's Republic of China.
College of Economics, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, Guangdong, People's Republic of China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Aug;30(37):88213-88232. doi: 10.1007/s11356-023-28503-y. Epub 2023 Jul 12.
Building a green silk road is an important practice in implementing the UN 2030 sustainable development goals. However, several countries taking part in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) feature challenging geographic circumstances and delicate ecological environments, which give rise to significant ecological and environmental protection challenges. Considering that green innovation is closely related to sustainable development, this study uses the BRI as a quasi-natural experiment and incorporates data from Chinese A-share listed manufacturing firms from 2008 to 2019 to assess the effect of investments in BRI countries on green innovation. The empirical findings show that the BRI significantly increases the green innovation of enterprises that are involved in foreign investments by alleviating financing constraints. This is accomplished through measures such as government subsidy incentives and overseas income spillover, as well as by enhancing productivity through optimized resource allocation and reverse technology spillover. Notably, the green innovation effect of the BRI is particularly significant in driving green innovation among enterprises with low pollution levels and those in technology-intensive industries. Furthermore, investment in BRI countries in closer proximity to China's institutional framework and with lower levels of economic development can take advantage of a similar innovation environment and gradient industrial transfer advantages, respectively, thus contributing to the improvement of advanced green innovation. Overall, this analysis sheds light on the beneficial effects of BRI investments on green innovation and offers strong empirical support and insightful policy recommendations for China's pursuit of a green Belt and Road.
共建绿色丝绸之路是落实联合国 2030 年可持续发展目标的重要实践。然而，参与“一带一路”倡议（BRI）的一些国家具有挑战性的地理环境和脆弱的生态环境，这给生态环境保护带来了重大挑战。鉴于绿色创新与可持续发展密切相关，本研究以 BRI 为准自然实验，利用 2008-2019 年中国 A 股制造业上市公司的数据，评估对 BRI 国家的投资对绿色创新的影响。实证结果表明，BRI 通过政府补贴激励和海外收入溢出等措施，以及通过优化资源配置和反向技术溢出提高生产力，缓解融资约束，显著增加了参与对外投资的企业的绿色创新。值得注意的是，BRI 的绿色创新效应在推动低污染水平和技术密集型产业企业的绿色创新方面尤为显著。此外，投资于与中国制度框架更接近、经济发展水平较低的 BRI 国家，可以分别利用类似的创新环境和梯度产业转移优势，从而促进先进绿色创新的提升。总体而言，本分析揭示了 BRI 投资对绿色创新的有益影响，为中国追求绿色丝绸之路提供了有力的实证支持和有见地的政策建议。
