Hunan Institute of Science and Technology, College of Economics and Management, Yueyang, Hunan, China.
PLoS One. 2024 May 24;19(5):e0303626. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303626. eCollection 2024.
Green development is an important component of China's new development concept. Pilot Free Trade Zones (PFTZs), as "experimental fields" for promoting reform, deepening opening-up, and raising the level of an open economy, are important open areas for China to promote green development. However, existing related research is not extensive. This article takes PFTZs as quasi-natural experiments, with the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) as the research area. Based on urban panel data from 2006 to 2020, using multi-period differences-in-differences and spatial differences-in-differences models, it explores the impact effects of PFTZs on urban green development and their potential mechanisms. The research findings indicate: (1) Overall, PFTZs significantly promote urban green development, with variations in impact effects due to different batches and locations of establishment. (2) Mechanism tests show that PFTZs mainly promote urban green development by stimulating technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and reducing government intervention. (3) From the perspective of spatial spillover effects, the establishment of PFTZs not only promotes the green development process in the host cities but also has a promoting effect on the green development of surrounding cities.
绿色发展是中国新发展理念的重要组成部分。自由贸易试验区（FTZs）作为推动改革、深化开放、提高开放型经济水平的“试验田”，是中国推动绿色发展的重要开放领域。然而，现有相关研究并不广泛。本文以自由贸易试验区为准自然实验，以长江经济带（YREB）为研究区域。基于 2006 年至 2020 年的城市面板数据，运用多期双重差分和空间双重差分模型，探讨了自由贸易试验区对城市绿色发展的影响效应及其潜在机制。研究结果表明：（1）总体而言，自由贸易试验区显著促进了城市的绿色发展，但由于设立的不同批次和地点，影响效果存在差异。（2）机制检验表明，自由贸易试验区主要通过刺激技术创新、产业升级和减少政府干预来促进城市的绿色发展。（3）从空间溢出效应的角度来看，自由贸易试验区的设立不仅促进了主办城市的绿色发展进程，而且对周边城市的绿色发展也具有促进作用。
