Uncovering multiple roles of green innovation in urban sustainable development efficiency in China

doi:10.1016/j.regsus.2026.100369

Abstract

Abstract:

As the pivotal component of the innovation-driven strategy, green innovation has been increasingly recognized as a viable pathway to achieve harmony among economy, society, and ecological environment. Therefore, it holds significant guiding implications to investigate how green innovation drives the improvement in urban sustainable development efficiency. Employing China’s prefecture-level panel dataset (excluding Xizang Autonomous Region, Hong Kong Special Administration Region, Macao Special Administration Region, and Taiwan Province due to missing data) during 2004-2022, this study evaluated the direction and extent of the impact of green innovation on urban sustainable development efficiency through adopting combining super-efficiency Slack Based Measure (SBM) model and Driving-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework. The results indicated that green innovation could make improvements in urban sustainable development efficiency through improving energy efficiency and driving industrial structure upgrading. In addition, compared with utility model green innovation, invention-based green innovation exerted a more pronounced role in urban sustainable development efficiency. Heterogeneity tests demonstrated that large cities and cluster cities enable themselves to enhance urban sustainable development efficiency through green innovation more than small to medium-sized cities and non-cluster cities. Spatial analysis revealed that green innovation imposes a significant spillover effect. Specifically, supported by the pollution haven hypothesis and siphon effect, the increased green innovation level in the neighboring cities may inhabit the local city’s sustainable development efficiency to certain degree. Based on these findings, the government can regularly hold cross-city seminars to share green technology case studies and provide financial and technological compensation to surrounding areas that have sacrificed development opportunities for the sake of protecting the environment, so as to better promote China’s green innovation capability and sustainable development efficiency.

Key words: Green innovation, Urban sustainable development efficiency, Driving-Pressure-State-Impact-Response (DPSIR) framework, Slack Based Measure (SBM) model, Pollution haven hypothesis, Siphon effect

NIU Zhiyuan, WEN Tao, TAN Feifei. Uncovering multiple roles of green innovation in urban sustainable development efficiency in China[J]. Regional Sustainability, 2026, 7(4): 100369.

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Table S1

Sample cities and their classification by urban scale."

Province, autonomous region, or municipality	Large city	Small to medium-sized city
Beijing Municipality, Tianjin Municipality, Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Liaoning Province, Jilin Province, Heilongjiang Province, Shanghai Municipality, Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Anhui Province, Fujian Province, Jiangxi Province, Shandong Province, Henan Province, Hubei Province, Hunan Province, Guangdong Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Hainan Province, Chongqing Municipality, Sichuan Province, Guizhou Province, Yunnan province, Shaanxi Province, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Gansu Province, and Qinghai Province	Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, Qinhuangdao, Handan, Baoding, Zhangjiakou, Taiyuan, Datong, Hohhot, Baotou, Shenyang, Dalian, Anshan, Fushun, Changchun, Jilin, Harbin, Qiqihar, Daqing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuxi, Xuzhou, Changzhou, Suzhou, Nantong, Huai’an, Yancheng, Yangzhou, Hangzhou, Ningbo, Wenzhou, Taizhou (Zhejiang), Hefei, Wuhu, Huainan, Fuzhou (Fujian), Xiamen, Quanzhou, Nanchang, Ganzhou, Jinan, Qingdao, Zibo, Zaozhuang, Yantai, Weifang, Jining, Tai’an, Linyi, Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Nanyang, Wuhan, Changsha, Zhuzhou, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou, Foshan, Huizhou, Dongguan, Nanning, Liuzhou, Haikou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Zigong, Luzhou, Mianyang, Nanchong, Yibin, Dazhou, Guiyang, Zunyi, Kunming, Xi’an, Lanzhou, Xining, Yinchuan, and Urumqi	Xingtai, Chengde, Cangzhou, Langfang, Hengshui, Yangquan, Changzhi, Jincheng, Shuozhou, Jinzhong, Yuncheng, Xinzhou, Linfen, Lüliang, Wuhai, Chifeng, Tongliao, Ordos, Hulunbuir, Bayannur, Ulanqab, Benxi, Dandong, Jinzhou, Yingkou, Fuxin, Liaoyang, Panjin, Tieling, Chaoyang, Huludao, Siping, Liaoyuan, Tonghua, Baishan, Songyuan, Baicheng, Jixi, Hegang, Shuangyashan, Yichun, Jiamusi, Qitaihe, Mudanjiang, Heihe, Suihua, Lianyungang, Zhenjiang, Taizhou (Jiangsu), Suqian, Jiaxing, Huzhou, Shaoxing, Jinhua, Quzhou, Zhoushan, Lishui, Bengbu, Ma’anshan, Huaibei, Tongling, Anqing, Huangshan, Chuzhou, Fuyang, Suzhou (Anhui), Lu’an, Bozhou, Chizhou, Xuancheng, Putian, Sanming, Zhangzhou, Nanping, Longyan, Ningde, Jingdezhen, Pingxiang, Jiujiang, Xinyu, Yingtan, Ji’an, Yichun (Jiangxi), Fuzhou (Jiangxi), Shangrao, Dongying, Weihai, Rizhao, Dezhou, Liaocheng, Binzhou, Heze, Kaifeng, Pingdingshan, Anyang, Hebi, Xinxiang, Jiaozuo, Puyang, Xuchang, Luohe, Sanmenxia, Shangqiu, Xinyang, Zhoukou, Zhumadian, Huangshi, Shiyan, Yichang, Ezhou, Jingmen, Xiaogan, Jingzhou, Huanggang, Xianning, Suizhou, Xiangtan, Hengyang, Shaoyang, Yueyang, Changde, Zhangjiajie, Yiyang, Chenzhou, Yongzhou, Huaihua, Loudi, Shaoguan, Jiangmen, Zhanjiang, Maoming, Zhaoqing, Meizhou, Shanwei, Heyuan, Yangjiang, Qingyuan, Zhongshan, Chaozhou, Jieyang, Yunfu, Guilin, Wuzhou, Beihai, Fangchenggang, Qinzhou, Guigang, Yulin (Guangxi), Baise, Hezhou, Hechi, Laibin, Chongzuo, Panzhihua, Deyang, Guangyuan, Suining, Neijiang, Leshan, Meishan, Guang’an, Ya’an, Bazhong, Ziyang, Liupanshui, Anshun, Qujing, Yuxi, Baoshan, Zhaotong, Lijiang, Lincang, Tongchuan, Baoji, Xianyang, Weinan, Yan’an, Hanzhong, Yulin (Shaanxi), Ankang, Shangluo, Jiayuguan, Jinchang, Baiyin, Tianshui, Wuwei, Zhangye, Pingliang, Jiuquan, Qingyang, Dingxi, Longnan, Shizuishan, Wuzhong, Guyuan, and Karamay

Table S1

Table S2

Sample cities and their classification by urban type."

Province, autonomous region, or municipality	Non-cluster city	Cluster city
Beijing Municipality, Tianjin Municipality, Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Liaoning Province, Jilin Province, Heilongjiang Province, Shanghai Municipality, Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Anhui Province, Fujian Province, Jiangxi Province, Shandong Province, Henan Province, Hubei Province, Hunan Province, Guangdong Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Hainan Province, Chongqing Municipality, Sichuan Province, Guizhou Province, Yunnan Province, Shaanxi Province, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Gansu Province, and Qinghai Province	Handan, Xingtai, Hengshui, Datong, Changzhi, Jincheng, Shuozhou, Yuncheng, Xinzhou, Linfen, Lüliang, Hohhot, Baotou, Wuhai, Chifeng, Tongliao, Ordos, Hulunbuir, Bayannur, Ulanqab, Chaoyang, Siping, Liaoyuan, Tonghua, Baishan, Baicheng, Jixi, Hegang, Shuangyashan, Yichun, Jiamusi, Qitaihe, Mudanjiang, Heihe, Suihua, Xuzhou, Lianyungang, Huai’an, Yancheng, Suqian, Wenzhou, Jinhua, Quzhou, Lishui, Huaibei, Huangshan, Fuyang, Suzhou (Anhui), Bozhou, Xuancheng, Sanming, Nanping, Longyan, Pingxiang, Xinyu, Ganzhou, Ji’an, Yichun (Jiangxi), Fuzhou (Jiangxi), Zaozhuang, Jining, Tai’an, Linyi, Dezhou, Liaocheng, Binzhou, Heze, Anyang, Hebi, Puyang, Sanmenxia, Nanyang, Shangqiu, Xinyang, Zhoukou, Zhumadian, Shiyan, Yichang, Jingmen, Jingzhou, Hengyang, Shaoyang, Yueyang, Changde, Zhangjiajie, Yiyang, Chenzhou, Yongzhou, Huaihua, Loudi, Shaoguan, Shantou, Zhanjiang, Maoming, Meizhou, Shanwei, Heyuan, Yangjiang, Qingyuan, Chaozhou, Jieyang, Yunfu, Liuzhou, Guilin, Wuzhou, Guigang, Yulin (Guangxi), Baise, Hezhou, Hechi, Laibin, Chongzuo, Haikou, Panzhihua, Liupanshui, Baoshan, Zhaotong, Lijiang, Lincang, Yan’an, Hanzhong, Yulin (Shaanxi), Ankang, Shangluo, Jiayuguan, Jinchang, Tianshui, Wuwei, Zhangye, Pingliang, Jiuquan, Qingyang, Dingxi, Longnan, Guyuan, Urumqi, and Karamay	Beijing, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Tangshan, Qinhuangdao, Baoding, Zhangjiakou, Chengde, Cangzhou, Langfang, Taiyuan, Yangquan, Jinzhong, Shenyang, Dalian, Anshan, Fushun, Benxi, Dandong, Jinzhou, Yingkou, Fuxin, Liaoyang, Panjin, Tieling, Huludao, Changchun, Jilin, Songyuan, Harbin, Qiqihar, Daqing, Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuxi, Changzhou, Suzhou, Nantong, Yangzhou, Zhenjiang, Taizhou (Jiangsu), Hangzhou, Ningbo, Jiaxing, Huzhou, Shaoxing, Zhoushan, Taizhou (Zhejiang), Hefei, Wuhu, Bengbu, Huainan, Ma'anshan, Tongling, Anqing, Chuzhou, Lu’an, Chizhou, Fuzhou (Fujian), Xiamen, Putian, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Ningde, Nanchang, Jingdezhen, Jiujiang, Yingtan, Shangrao, Jinan, Qingdao, Zibo, Dongying, Yantai, Weifang, Weihai, Rizhao, Zhengzhou, Kaifeng, Luoyang, Pingdingshan, Xinxiang, Jiaozuo, Xuchang, Luohe, Wuhan, Huangshi, Ezhou, Xiaogan, Huanggang, Xianning, Suizhou, Changsha, Zhuzhou, Xiangtan, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Jiangmen, Zhaoqing, Huizhou, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Nanning, Beihai, Fangchenggang, Qinzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Zigong, Luzhou, Deyang, Mianyang, Guangyuan, Suining, Neijiang, Leshan, Nanchong, Meishan, Yibin, Guang’an, Dazhou, Ya’an, Bazhong, Ziyang, Guiyang, Zunyi, Anshun, Kunming, Qujing, Yuxi, Xi’an, Tongchuan, Baoji, Xianyang, Weinan, Lanzhou, Baiyin, Xining, Yinchuan, Shizuishan, and Wuzhong

Table S2

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Dimension	Standardized layer	Index	Unit	Orientation
Driving	Economic and social activities	Natural increase rate	%	+
Driving	Economic and social activities	Urbanization rate	%	+
Pressure	Depletion of resources	Per capita water consumption	m³/person	-
	Depletion of resources	Size of built-up area	km	-
	Environmental pollution	Industrial wastewater emissions	t	-
	Environmental pollution	Industrial soot emissions	t	-
State	Economic and social status	Per capita gross domestic product (GDP)	CNY/person	+
		Per capita disposable income of urban resident	CNY/person	+
		Retail sales of consumer goods as a share of GDP	CNY	+
		Comparative labor productivity	/	+
	Environmental state	Per capita green space	hm²/person	+
Impact	Economic potential	Per capita investment in fixed asset	CNY/person	+
	Economic potential	Per capita saving	CNY/person	+
	Human health	Life expectancy	/	+
Response	Pollution control	Comprehensive utilization rate of general industrial solid waste	%	+
	Pollution control	Non-hazardous domestic waste disposal rate	%	+
	Investment and construction	Science and technology expenditure as a share of GDP	%	+
	Investment and construction	GDP share of investment in environmental infrastructure	%	+

Abbreviation	Variable	Observations	Mean	Standard deviation	Minimum	Maximum
USDE	Urban sustainable development efficiency	5320	0.282	0.318	0.000	1.283
GI	Green innovation	5320	0.105	0.223	0.000	1.375
Ginv	Invention-based green innovation	5320	0.028	0.077	0.000	0.512
Guti	Utility model green innovation	5320	0.087	0.190	0.000	1.219
lngov	Government scale	5320	0.162	0.078	0.056	0.469
lnfin	Financial development level	5320	0.754	0.433	-1.131	1.909
edu	Educational level	5320	0.180	0.043	0.085	0.288
unemp	Unemployment rate	5320	0.006	0.004	0.001	0.024
lnsoc	Level of social security and benefit	5320	1.616	0.756	-1.273	2.841
lndoc	Medical level	5320	1.078	0.165	0.632	1.444

Variable	(1) USDE	(2) USDE	(3) USDE	(4) USDE	(5) USDE	(6) USDE
GI	0.055^** (0.026)	0.084^*** (0.027)	-	-	-	-
Ginv	-	-	0.179^*** (0.075)	0.226^*** (0.076)	-	-
Guti	-	-	-	-	0.057^* (0.029)	0.089^*** (0.030)
lngov	-	0.252^* (0.141)	-	0.239^* (0.140)	-	0.246^* (0.141)
lnfin	-	0.006 (0.024)	-	0.006 (0.024)	-	0.006 (0.024)
lndoc	-	-0.028 (0.051)	-	-0.024 (0.052)	-	-0.029^* (0.051)
lnsoc	-	-0.227^*** (0.025)	-	-0.223^*** (0.025)	-	-0.226^*** (0.025)
unemp	-	0.164 (1.418)	-	0.227 (1.148)	-	0.179 (1.418)
edu	-	0.348^** (0.161)	-	0.348^** (0.161)	-	0.353^** (0.161)
Year fixed effect	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
City fixed effect	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Constant	0.277^*** (0.004)	0.335^*** (0.072)	0.277^*** (0.004)	0.332^*** (0.072)	0.277^*** (0.004)	0.337^*** (0.072)
R²	0.456	0.465	0.457	0.465	0.456	0.465

Variable	Large cities			Small to medium-sized cities
Variable	(1) USDE	(2) USDE	(3) USDE	(4) USDE	(5) USDE	(6) USDE
GI	0.124^*** (0.039)	-	-	0.003 (0.051)	-	-
Ginv	-	0.294^*** (0.104)	-	-	0.017 (0.167)	-
Guti	-	-	0.134^*** (0.043)	-	-	0.009 (0.055)
lngov	-0.738^** (0.333)	-0.765^** (0.333)	-0.739^** (0.333)	0.481^*** (0.156)	0.481^*** (0.156)	0.478^*** (0.156)
lnfin	0.033 (0.051)	0.029 (0.051)	0.032 (0.051)	0.002 (0.028)	0.002 (0.028)	0.003 (0.028)
lndoc	0.045 (0.110)	0.053 (0.111)	0.042 (0.110)	-0.037 (0.058)	-0.037 (0.058)	-0.037 (0.058)
lnsoc	-0.349^*** (0.049)	-0.344^*** (0.049)	-0.347^*** (0.049)	-0.182^*** (0.029)	-0.182^*** (0.029)	-0.182^*** (0.029)
unemp	-2.275 (2.391)	-2.144 (2.391)	-2.267 (2.391)	0.847 (1.767)	0.850 (1.767)	0849 (1.767)
edu	-0.241 (0.317)	-0.257 (0.318)	-0.239 (0.317)	0.480^** (0.191)	0.480^** (0.191)	0.481^** (0.191)
Year fixed effect	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
City fixed effect	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Constant	0.867^*** (0.160)	0.868^*** (0.161)	0.872^*** (0.160)	0.160^** (0.081)	0.159^** (0.081)	0.161^*** (0.081)
R²	0.554	0.553	0.553	0.378	0.378	0.378

Variable	Cluster city			Non-cluster city
Variable	(1) USDE	(2) USDE	(3) USDE	(4) USDE	(5) USDE	(6) USDE
GI	0.083^*** (0.032)	-	-	0.053 (0.059)	-	-
Ginv	-	0.164^* (0.091)	-	-	0.245 (0.159)	-
Guti	-	-	0.091^*** (0.035)	-	-	0.041 (0.065)
lngov	-0.229 (0.220)	-0.238 (0.220)	-0.231 (0.220)	0.709^*** (0.191)	0.716^*** (0.191)	0.702^*** (0.191)
lnfin	0.066^* (0.036)	0.059^* (0.036)	0.066^* (0.036)	-0.063^* (0.035)	-0.065^* (0.035)	-0.062^* (0.035)
lndoc	-0.168^** (0.076)	-0.167^** (0.076)	-0.169^** (0.076)	0.126^* (0.071)	0.131^* (0.071)	0.126^* (0.071)
lnsoc	-0.294^*** (0.034)	-0.289^*** (0.033)	-0.293^*** (0.034)	-0.148^*** (0.039)	-0.146^*** (0.038)	-0.148^*** (0.039)
unemp	-2.420 (1.956)	-2.208 (1.954)	-2.410 (1.955)	2.483 (2.063)	2.462 (2.061)	2.482 (2.063)
edu	0.649^*** (0.229)	0.659^*** (0.231)	0.653^*** (0.229)	-0.002 (0.227)	0.003 (0.226)	0.0003 (0.227)
Year fixed effect	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
City fixed effect	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes
Constant	0.614^*** (0.108)	0.618^*** (0.108)	0.616^*** (0.108)	0.064 (0.098)	0.058 (0.098)	0.065 (0.098)
R²	0.559	0.558	0.558	0.313	0.313	0.313