Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Examining the effects of economic growth pressure on green total factor productivity: evidence from China

  • Published:
Economic Change and Restructuring Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The demand for political promotion brings significant economic growth pressure (EGP) on local officials, which brings considerable economic and environmental impacts and thus theoretically has a significant effect on green total factor productivity (GTFP). However, few studies have explored the theoretical relationship between EGP and GTFP. To fill this gap, this paper based on Chinese prefecture-level cities indicates an inverted U-shaped relationship between EGP and GTFP. Moreover, EGP leads to non-monotonic changes in GTFP through its influence on technological innovation and industrial structure upgrading. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the significant inverted U-shaped relationship between EGP and GTFP exists only in western and northeastern China. Longitudinally, this relationship exists only in the most recent period between 2015 and 2019. The article provides the first evidence of the relationship between EGP and GTFP and offers theoretical and practical insights as well.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ai H, Hu S, Li K, Shao S (2020) Environmental regulation, total factor productivity, and enterprise duration: evidence from China. Bus Strateg Environ 29(6):2284–2296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cai L, Wang P (2022) Digital economy and urban green total factor productivity: influencing mechanism and empirical evidence. Stat Decis. https://doi.org/10.13546/j.cnki.tjyjc.2022.09.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Campos NF, Coricelli F, Frigerio M (2022) The political U: new evidence on democracy and income. IZA discussion paper No. 15598

  • Cao X, Deng M, Li H (2021) How does e-commerce city pilot improve green total factor productivity? Evidence from 230 cities in China. J Environ Manag 289:112520

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen Z, Kahn ME, Liu Y, Wang Z (2018) The consequences of spatially differentiated water pollution regulation in China. J Environ Econ Manag 88:468–485

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen J, Gao M, Cheng S, Hou W, Song M, Liu X et al (2020) County-level CO2 emissions in China. Figshare Dataset. https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.12887213.v3

  • Deryugina T, Heutel G, Miller NH, Molitor D, Reif J (2019) The mortality and medical costs of air pollution: evidence from changes in wind direction. Am Econ Rev 109(12):4178–4219

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Du K, Cheng Y, Yao X (2021) Environmental regulation, green technology innovation, and industrial structure upgrading: the road to the green transformation of Chinese cities. Energy Economics 98:105247

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fang C, Cheng J, Zhu Y, Chen J, Peng X (2021a) Green total factor productivity of extractive industries in China: an explanation from technology heterogeneity. Resour Policy 70:101933

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fang L, Hu R, Mao H, Chen S (2021b) How crop insurance influences agricultural green total factor productivity: evidence from Chinese farmers. J Clean Prod 321:128977

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feng C, Huang JB, Wang M (2018) Analysis of green total-factor productivity in China’s regional metal industry: a meta-frontier approach. Resour Policy 58:219–229

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feng Y, Wang X, Liang Z, Hu S, Xie Y, Wu G (2021) Effects of emission trading system on green total factor productivity in China: empirical evidence from a quasi-natural experiment. J Clean Prod 294:126262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hou S, Song L (2021) Market integration and regional green total factor productivity: evidence from China’s province-level data. Sustainability 13(2):472

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huang Z, Phillips GM, Yang J, Zhang Y (2020) Education and innovation: the long shadow of the cultural revolution (No. w27107). Working paper, https://doi.org/10.3386/w27107

  • Jiang H, Jiang P, Wang D, Wu J (2021a) Can smart city construction facilitate green total factor productivity? A quasi-natural experiment based on China’s pilot smart city. Sustain Cities Soc 69:102809

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jiang Y, Wang H, Liu Z (2021b) The impact of the free trade zone on green total factor productivity-Evidence from the Shanghai pilot free trade zone. Energy Policy 148:112000

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jin G, Shen K, Li J (2020) Interjurisdiction political competition and green total factor productivity in China: an inverted-U relationship. China Econ Rev 61:101224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee CC, Lee CC (2022) How does green finance affect green total factor productivity? Evid China Energy Econ 107:105863

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee CC, Zeng M, Wang C (2022) Environmental regulation, innovation capability, and green total factor productivity: new evidence from China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29(26):39384–39399

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leonida L, Patti DMA, Marini A, Navarra P (2015) Political competition and economic growth: a test of two tales. Econ Lett 135:96–99

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Chen Y (2021) Development of an SBM-ML model for the measurement of green total factor productivity: The case of Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration. Renew Sustain Energy Rev 145:111131

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li T, Liao G (2020) The heterogeneous impact of financial development on green total factor productivity. Front Energy Res 8:29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li K, Lin B (2017) Economic growth model, structural transformation, and green productivity in China. Appl Energy 187:489–500

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li B, Wu S (2017) Effects of local and civil environmental regulation on green total factor productivity in China: a spatial Durbin econometric analysis. J Clean Prod 153:342–353

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li T, Han D, Ding Y, Shi Z (2020) How does the development of the internet affect green total factor productivity? Evidence from China. IEEE Access 8:216477–216490

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li MM, Wang HJ, Yan K (2021a) Economic growth targets and crowding-out effect of R&D: An empirical study based on multi-objective assessment theory. Nankai Business Rev 24(1):17–26

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Y, Wu Y, Chen Y, Huang Q (2021b) The influence of foreign direct investment and trade opening on green total factor productivity in the equipment manufacturing industry. Appl Econ 53(57):6641–6654

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li C, Qi Y, Liu S, Wang X (2022) Do carbon ETS pilots improve cities’ green total factor productivity? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China. Energy Economics 108:105931

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin B, Chen Z (2018) Does factor market distortion inhibit the green total factor productivity in China? J Clean Prod 197:25–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lin B, Xu M (2019) Exploring the green total factor productivity of China’s metallurgical industry under carbon tax: a perspective on factor substitution. J Clean Prod 233:1322–1333

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y, Dong F (2021) How technological innovation impacts urban green economy efficiency in emerging economies: a case study of 278 Chinese cities. Resour Conserv Recycl 169:105534

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Z, Xin L (2019) Has China’s belt and road initiative promoted its green total factor productivity?-Evidence from primary provinces along the route. Energy Policy 129:360–369

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y, Yang Y, Li H, Zhong K (2022) Digital economy development, industrial structure upgrading and green total factor productivity: empirical evidence from China’s cities. Int J Environ Res Public Health 19(4):2414

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oh DH, Heshmati A (2010) A sequential Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index: environmentally sensitive productivity growth considering the progressive nature of technology. Energy Econ 32(6):1345–1355

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramanathan R, Poomkaew B, Nath P (2014) The impact of organizational pressures on environmental performance of firms. Business Ethics Eur Rev 23(2):169–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song M, Du J, Tan KH (2018) Impact of fiscal decentralization on green total factor productivity. Int J Prod Econ 205:359–367

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Song K, Bian Y, Zhu C, Nan Y (2020) Impacts of dual decentralization on green total factor productivity: evidence from China’s economic transition. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27(12):14070–14084

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Su F, Tao R, Xi L, Li M (2012) Local officials’ incentives and China’s economic growth: tournament thesis reexamined and alternative explanatory framework. Chin World Econ 20(4):1–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun J, Tang D, Kong H, Boamah V (2022a) Impact of industrial structure upgrading on green total factor productivity in the Yangtze River economic belt. Int J Environ Res Public Health 19(6):3718

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sun Y, Tang Y, Li G (2022b) Economic growth targets and green total factor productivity: evidence from China. J Environ Planning Manag. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2022.2061335

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang P, Jiang Q, Mi L (2021a) One-vote veto: the threshold effect of environmental pollution in China’s economic promotion tournament. Ecol Econ 185:107069

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tang XM, Huang HW, Tan YX, Li FD (2021b) The pressure of economic growth and the economic cost of environmental protection-Empirical analysis based on “two control areas” in China. Indus Econ Rev 4:89–102. https://doi.org/10.19313/j.cnki.cn10-1223/f.2021.04.005

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang KL, Pang SQ, Ding LL, Miao Z (2020) Combining the biennial Malmquist-Luenberger index and panel quantile regression to analyze the green total factor productivity of the industrial sector in China. Sci Total Environ 739:140280

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang H, Cui H, Zhao Q (2021a) Effect of green technology innovation on green total factor productivity in China: evidence from spatial Durbin model analysis. J Clean Prod 288:125624

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang M, Pang S, Hmani I, Hmani I, Li C, He Z (2021b) Towards sustainable development: How does technological innovation drive the increase in green total factor productivity? Sustain Dev 29(1):217–227

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang M, Xu M, Ma S (2021c) The effect of the spatial heterogeneity of human capital structure on regional green total factor productivity. Struct Chang Econ Dyn 59:427–441

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang XB, Liu SL, Huang LX (2021d) Economic growth pressure and regional innovation-Evidence from the setting of economic growth targets. China Econ Quart 21(04):1147–1166. https://doi.org/10.13821/j.cnki.ceq.2021.04.02

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu H, Yang J, Yang Q (2021) The pressure of economic growth and the issuance of urban investment bonds: based on panel data from 2005 to 2011 in China. J Asian Econ 76:101341

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xie F, Zhang B, Wang N (2021) Non-linear relationship between energy consumption transition and green total factor productivity: a perspective on different technology paths. Sustain Prod Consum 28:91–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xu Y, Dong B, Chen Z (2022) Can foreign trade and technological innovation affect green development: evidence from countries along the Belt and Road. Econ Chang Restruct 55(2):1063–1090

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang X, Jia Z, Yang Z (2021a) How does technological progress impact transportation green total factor productivity: a spatial econometric perspective. Energy Rep 7:3935–3950

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang X, Wang W, Wu H, Wang J, Ran Q, Ren S (2021b) The impact of the new energy demonstration city policy on the green total factor productivity of resource-based cities: Empirical evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China. J Environ Plann Manag. https://doi.org/10.1080/09640568.2021.1988529

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang Y, Wei X, Wei J, Gao X (2022) Industrial structure upgrading, green total factor productivity and carbon emissions. Sustainability 14(2):1009

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yi Z, Wu L (2022) Analysis of the impact mechanism of environmental regulations on corporate environmental proactivity—based on the perspective of political connections. Bus Ethics Environ Respons 31(2):323–345

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yu D, Li X, Yu J, Li H (2021) The impact of the spatial agglomeration of foreign direct investment on green total factor productivity of Chinese cities. J Environ Manag 290:112666

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang JK (2022) Tourism, urbanization, and urban income inequality in China. Tour Econ. https://doi.org/10.1177/13548166221108121

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Wu Z (2021) Intelligence and green total factor productivity based on China’s province-level manufacturing data. Sustainability 13(9):4989

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang J, Zhang Y (2022) Does tourism contribute to the nighttime economy? Evidence from China. Curr Issues Tourism. https://doi.org/10.1080/13683500.2022.2053073

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang J, Lu G, Skitmore M, Ballesteros-Pérez P (2021) A critical review of the current research mainstreams and the influencing factors of green total factor productivity. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28(27):35392–35405

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Xu S, Zhang J (2022a) How economic growth pressure impact carbon emissions: evidence for China. Econ Res Ekonomska Istraživanja. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2022.2159473

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Y, Zhou R, Chen N (2022b) An empirical study on coordinated development of energy consumption structure and green total factor productivity under spatial interaction. Econ Res Ekonomska Istraživanja. https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2022.2084436

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao W, Xu Y (2022) Public expenditure and green total factor productivity: evidence from Chinese prefecture-level cities. Int J Environ Res Public Health 19(9):5755

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao C, Dong K, Taghizadeh-Hesary F (2023) Can smart transportation enhance green development efficiency? Econ Chang Restruct 56:825–857

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhong M, Wang P, Ji M, Zeng XH, Wei HX (2021) Promote or inhibit: economic goal pressure and residents’ health. Front Public Health 9:725957

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhong S, Li J, Zhang D (2022) Measurement of green total factor productivity on Chinese pig breeding: from the perspective of regional differences. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29(18):27479–27495

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou L (2007) Governing China’s local officials: an analysis of promotion tournament model. Econ Res J 7:36–50 (In Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhou Y, Xu Y, Liu C, Fang Z, Fu X, He M (2019) The threshold effect of China’s financial development on green total factor productivity. Sustainability 11(14):3776

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu J, Lin B (2022) Economic growth pressure and energy efficiency improvement: empirical evidence from Chinese cities. Appl Energy 307:118275

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhu X, Chen Y, Feng C (2018) Green total factor productivity of China’s mining and quarrying industry: a global data envelopment analysis. Resour Policy 57:1–9

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 71764027.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Asean Tourism Research Centre of China Tourism Academy, Guilin Tourism University, Guilin, China

    Jiekuan Zhang

  2. School of Tourism Management, Guilin Tourism University, Guilin, China

    Yan Zhang

Authors
  1. Jiekuan Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Yan Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jiekuan Zhang.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Zhang, J., Zhang, Y. Examining the effects of economic growth pressure on green total factor productivity: evidence from China. Econ Change Restruct 56, 4309–4337 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10644-023-09555-z

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10644-023-09555-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation