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The influence of green credit on China’s industrial structure upgrade: evidence from industrial sector panel data exploration

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Abstract

The green credit is one of the effective tools to save energy and reduce pollution, which mainly applies in industry. Thus, this paper explores the impact of green credit on the upgrading of China’s industrial structure from the perspective of industrial sectors, by means of a dynamic panel model with the dada from 2005 to 2016. The upgrading of industrial structure is divided into three dimensions to be analyzed—rationalization of industrial structure (RIS), advancement of industrial structure (AIS), and greenization of industrial structure (GIS). The empirical results are also explained by four influence mechanisms—resource allocation, technological innovation, credit catalysis, and policy guidance mechanism. This paper finds that on the national level, green credit has a positive impact on the upgrading of China’s industrial structure and plays a significant role in promoting the greenization and advancement of industrial structure. However, on the regional level, the effect of green credit is more complex. First, green credit has a significant positive effect on the GIS in the eastern, central, and western regions of China, which suggests that green credit is conductive to the cleaner production of industry across the country. Second, green credit also has a positive impact on the AIS in these three regions, but the effect is only significant in the eastern region. Third, in terms of the RIS, the effect of green credit is positive but not significant in the eastern and central regions. However, it is negative, not significant as well, in the western region, which can be explained from the perspective of the resource allocation and technological innovation mechanism. In addition, there is a significant positive correlation between the previous period and the current value of RIS, AIS, and GIS, which indicates that there is a significant positive inertia dynamic feature in the upgrading of China’s industrial structure.

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Availability of data and materials

All data generated or analyzed during the current study are presented in this article. Data supporting the findings are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Notes

  1. According to the “Statistical Yearbook of China’s High-tech Industries,” high-tech industries are composed of 6 industries, including manufacture of medicines, manufacture of aircrafts and spacecrafts and related equipment, manufacture of electronic equipment and communication equipment, manufacture of computers and office equipment, manufacture of medical equipments and measuring instrument, and manufacture of electronic chemicals.

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Funding

This research is funded by the Nature Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (grant number 2018A030313269) and the Humanities and Social Sciences planning fund of the Ministry of Education (grant number 19A10574031).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Economic and Management, South China Normal University, No. 378 Waihuan Road, University Campus, Panyu District, Guangzhou, 510631, China

    Qingqing Cheng, Xiaodong Lai, Yuqing Liu, Zhijiang Yang & Jixian Liu

Authors
  1. Qingqing Cheng
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  2. Xiaodong Lai
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  3. Yuqing Liu
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  4. Zhijiang Yang
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  5. Jixian Liu
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Contributions

Professor Jixian Liu and Associates Professor Xiaodong Lai contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by PhD. Ms. Qingqing Cheng. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Ms. Qingqing Cheng. Yuqing Liu and Zhijiang Yang commented on previous versions of the manuscript and do some data analysis. Associate professor Xiaodong Lai read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xiaodong Lai.

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Communicated by Nicholas Apergis

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Appendices

Appendix 1

Table.6 According to Statistical Yearbook of China’s Industrial Economy, the industrial structure conducted in this article is composed of 35 industries, and the classification refers to Tong et al. (2016):
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Appendix 2

Table.7 According to State Statistical Bureau, this paper classfied three areas of "central, east and west" in China foranalysis purpose
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Cheng, Q., Lai, X., Liu, Y. et al. The influence of green credit on China’s industrial structure upgrade: evidence from industrial sector panel data exploration. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 22439–22453 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-17399-1

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