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The impact of green total factor productivity on export product quality: evidence from china

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Abstract

Does green total factor productivity (GTFP) have an effect on the quality of exported Chinese manufacturing products? In this study, we measure GTFP in Chinese industry from 2005 to 2015 using a model called the slack-based measure–Global Malmquist–Luenberger model. Then, we calculate export quality and empirically examine the relationship and mechanism between them. We find that Chinese GTFP and export quality have both increased. GTFP can effectively drive export product quality, and this relationship is mainly embodied in manufacturing, which is capital-intensive. Additionally, the impact of GTFP on the export product quality is driven primarily through the channels of technological progress and the size of the domestic market. Moreover, only capital investment can play a mutually positive effect with GTFP in joint effects on export quality. Our findings not only fill a gap in existing research, but also shed light on how China can stimulate environmentally sustainable economic development of exports from the perspective of GTFP.

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Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author. The data are not publicly available due to privacy or ethical restrictions.

Notes

  1. We selected the period from 2004 to 2015 for the following reasons. When we calculated GTFP, we selected industrial wastewater discharged, common industrial solid wastes generated, and industrial waste gas emissions as unexpected output indicators. However, the China Statistical Yearbook of Environment has no statistical data about industrial wastewater discharged and industrial waste gas emissions after 2015. This limits the range of our study sample.

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Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the editors and anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and efforts. Our anonymous reviewers provided invaluable suggestions and constructive insights that significantly promoted the quality of our paper. We owe particular thanks to the Editors for their academic excellence and scholarly expertise.

Funding

This research was funded by the National Social Science Fund of China under Grant 22BJL098 and 22&ZD095, and the Social Science Fund of Jiangsu Province under Grant 22EYA002.

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  1. School of Economics and Management, Southeast University, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China

    Wei Feng, Hang Yuan & Yanyi Chen

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  1. Wei Feng
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Feng, W., Yuan, H. & Chen, Y. The impact of green total factor productivity on export product quality: evidence from china. Environ Dev Sustain (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-024-04591-9

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