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Exploring the moderating role of digital finance in the two-way foreign direct investment and green technology innovation nexus: an empirical evidence from China

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Abstract

Based on the provincial panel data of China from 2011 to 2020, this paper explores the relationship between two-way FDI and green technology innovation and examines the moderating role of digital finance in the impact of two-way FDI on green technology innovation. The results show that (1) two-way FDI can significantly enhance the level of green technology innovation. (2) Digital finance plays a moderating effect in the process of two-way FDI to enhance the level of green technology innovation. The conclusion is still robust by replacing the dependent variable, eliminating special samples and shrinking the tail. (3) The results of sub-dimensional analysis show that the three sub-dimensions indicators of the digital finance also have a positive moderating effect on the relationship between two-way FDI and green technology innovation. (4) The results of sub-regional regression show that the moderating effect in the central and western regions is greater than that in the eastern region. The results of the study can provide reference for governments to formulate policies about digital finance, which is conducive to achieve high-quality opening-up and realize green development.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Chongqing Federation of Social Sciences (grant number 2019QNJJ19), by the Chongqing Municipal Education Commission (grant number 20SKGH098), by the Chongqing Technology and Business University (grant number 1955017), and by the Chongqing Technology and Business University (grant number 1951015).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Finance, Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing, 400000, China

    Qiaohua Jin

  2. Shanghai Institute of Geological Survey, Shanghai, 200000, China

    Qiaohua Jin

  3. School of Public Economics and Management, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, Shanghai, 200000, China

    Keqiang Wang

Authors
  1. Qiaohua Jin
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  2. Keqiang Wang
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Contributions

Q.J.: conceptualization, data curation, and writing original draft. Q.J.: theoretical and empirical analysis and writing original draft. K.W.: literature review and formal analysis. Q.J.: conceptualization, methodology, funding acquisition, and supervision.

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Correspondence to Qiaohua Jin.

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Jin, Q., Wang, K. Exploring the moderating role of digital finance in the two-way foreign direct investment and green technology innovation nexus: an empirical evidence from China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 31, 10473–10482 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-31896-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-31896-z

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