Department of Economic Management, Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Nanjing, 210016, China.
Law and Business School of Sanjiang University, Nanjing, 210016, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2023 Sep;30(41):93708-93721. doi: 10.1007/s11356-023-28846-6. Epub 2023 Jul 29.
This study examines the impact of green credit on digital technology innovation in China, focusing on the influence of financialization and regional heterogeneity. Existing research primarily explores factors like government subsidies, economic growth, and environmental regulations, and there is a lack of critical analysis on the influence of green credit on digital technology innovations. To examine the internal mechanisms linking green credit to digital technology innovation, this study uses panel data from 271 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2000 to 2020. Our findings suggest that the availability of green credit and the level of financialization have a significant positive effect on technology innovation, particularly in regions with higher economic development. However, we also find that the impact of green credit and financialization on technology innovation varies across different regions of China. Study findings reveal that green credit bolsters both the quantity and quality of digital technology innovation, emerging as a significant driver for green innovations in China. This conclusion holds even after endogeneity tests. The heterogeneous analysis highlights that various aspects of green credit, such as coverage scope, usage intensity, and digitization level, can enhance digital technology innovations. Western cities demonstrate the most considerable positive effects, followed by central cities, while the weakest impact occurs in eastern cities. Green credit primarily promotes digital technology innovation indirectly by alleviating financing constraints. These empirical findings provide valuable policy insights for fostering a harmonious relationship between China's urban green credit facilities and green financial growth, thereby addressing the funding limitations green credit enterprises face.
本研究考察了绿色信贷对中国数字技术创新的影响，重点关注金融化和区域异质性的影响。现有研究主要探讨了政府补贴、经济增长和环境法规等因素，而对绿色信贷对数字技术创新的影响缺乏批判性分析。为了检验绿色信贷与数字技术创新之间内在联系的机制，本研究使用了 2000 年至 2020 年中国 271 个地级市的面板数据。研究结果表明，绿色信贷的可得性和金融化水平对技术创新有显著的正向影响，特别是在经济发展水平较高的地区。然而，我们也发现绿色信贷和金融化对技术创新的影响在不同的中国地区存在差异。研究结果表明，绿色信贷不仅促进了数字技术创新的数量，也促进了其质量，成为中国绿色创新的重要推动因素。即使经过内生性检验，这一结论仍然成立。异质性分析表明，绿色信贷的各个方面，如覆盖范围、使用强度和数字化水平，都可以促进数字技术创新。西部城市的影响最大，其次是中部城市，东部城市的影响最小。绿色信贷主要通过缓解融资约束来间接促进数字技术创新。这些实证结果为促进中国城市绿色信贷和绿色金融增长之间的和谐关系提供了有价值的政策见解，从而解决绿色信贷企业面临的资金限制问题。
