Do pilot free trade zones improve the green total factor productivity? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China

Research on the impact of pilot free trade zones on urban green development: A case study based on the Yangtze River Economic Belt in China

Green development is an important component of China's new development concept. Pilot Free Trade Zones (PFTZs), as "experimental fields" for promoting reform, deepening opening-up, and raising the level of an open economy, are important open areas for China to promote green development. However, existing related research is not extensive. This article takes PFTZs as quasi-natural experiments, with the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) as the research area. Based on urban panel data from 2006 to 2020, using multi-period differences-in-differences and spatial differences-in-differences models, it explores the impact effects of PFTZs on urban green development and their potential mechanisms. The research findings indicate: (1) Overall, PFTZs significantly promote urban green development, with variations in impact effects due to different batches and locations of establishment. (2) Mechanism tests show that PFTZs mainly promote urban green development by stimulating technological innovation, industrial upgrading, and reducing government intervention. (3) From the perspective of spatial spillover effects, the establishment of PFTZs not only promotes the green development process in the host cities but also has a promoting effect on the green development of surrounding cities.

Do pilot free trade zones promote green innovation efficiency in enterprises? -Evidence from listed companies in China

The establishment of the China Pilot Free Trade Zone complies with the concept of sustainable development, and its construction can not only realize trade liberalization and facilitation but also activate the green innovation momentum of enterprises to help solve China's current dilemma of sustainable development and economic growth. This paper is the first to consider the impact of the establishment of the pilot free trade zone from the perspective of enterprise green innovation efficiency, providing a direct answer to the key question of whether the construction of the pilot free trade zone can truly serve the high-quality development of the economy in the new era, and enriching the theoretical research on the enterprise green innovation efficiency macro-drivers related theoretical research. In addition, this paper uses the super-efficient EBM-GML model to measure the level of green innovation efficiency of enterprises, on the basis of this, it adopts the multi-stage differences-in-differences method used to evaluate the impact of the establishment of the pilot free trade zone on the green innovation efficiency of enterprises. According to the benchmark regression results, the establishment of the pilot free trade zone has promoted the degree of green innovation efficiency of enterprises, and this promotion effect is sustainable. This conclusion was validated by robustness tests. Heterogeneity testing confirms that the pilot free trade zone has a significant influence on the green innovation efficiency of enterprises in heavy pollution industries, non-state-owned enterprises and patent-intensive enterprises. With the enhancement of environmental regulations, the green innovation efficiency of enterprises shows significant improvements. The analysis of the transmission mechanism shows that the pilot free trade zone influences the green innovation efficiency of enterprises primarily through the cost reduction effect, tax incentive effect, and reverse technology spillover effect. This study clarifies whether the policy of the pilot free trade zone can boost the green innovation efficiency of enterprises, and provides useful insight for further implementing the strategy of opening up to the world and promoting high-quality economic growth.

China's pilot free trade zone and green high-quality development: an empirical study from the perspective of green finance

Achieving the integration of green and economic development has become the key to promoting high-quality economic development in China. In the context of dual-cycle development, a higher level of opening up will be an important prerequisite for achieving this goal. This article uses panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2008 to 2020 as the research sample and takes the establishment of the Pilot Free Trade Zone (PFTZ) as a quasi-natural experiment. By constructing the Green Dual-Cycle High-Quality Development (GDHD) indicator system, taking green finance as the starting point, industrial structure adjustment and technological innovation ability as the perspective of differentiation. This article uses the difference-in-differences method and the intermediary effect model to explore the impact of PFTZ on regional green high-quality development. The study found that establishing PFTZ has significantly promoted regional green high-quality development, and this effect remains valid under multiple robustness tests. Further research has found that, under the advantages of green finance in PFTZ, regional industrial restructuring and the improvement of green innovation capabilities are the main ways to achieve this goal. This study provides a new development path for China's PFTZ to promote high-quality regional development better.

Achieving carbon neutrality: the effect of China pilot Free Trade Zone policy on green technology innovation

Evaluating the effect of China pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) policy on green technology innovation is important for achieving China's carbon neutrality targets. Based on the panel data of 30 provincial administrative regions in China from 2009 to 2019, this study investigates the effect of the pilot FTZ policy on green technology innovation by using the difference-in-differences method. The study's findings indicate the following: (1) The pilot FTZ policy promotes the development of green technology innovation, and there is a policy lag in a few pilot regions. (2) The mediation effect analysis shows that the pilot FTZ policy promotes the development of green technology innovation by improving the marketization process and enhancing innovative talent gathering. (3) The heterogeneity analysis shows that the pilot FTZ policy is more effective in promoting green technology innovation when implemented in regions with developed economies or higher levels of human capital. Moreover, the pilot FTZ policy mainly has a significant promoting effect on green utility model patents. Based on these results, policy recommendations are proposed to promote the development of green technology innovation and the achievement of China's carbon neutrality targets.

Environmental effects of the establishment of pilot free trade zones: evidence from Chinese resource-based enterprises

The establishment of pilot free trade zones (FTZs) is a key strategic measure taken by China to promote high-quality economic development, but there are still gaps in the research on how the establishment of FTZs affects the environmental performance of enterprises from a micro perspective. Using data from China's Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share resource-based listed enterprises from 2010 to 2020, this paper uses the difference-in-difference model to examine the impact of the establishment of FTZs on the environmental performance of enterprises. The study finds that after the city that the enterprise located is set up as a free trade zone (FTZ), enterprises' environmental performance has been significantly improved, and this effect has a continuous positive impact. As far as the influence mechanism is concerned, the main driving forces for the establishment of FTZs are technology effect, competition effect, and resource allocation effect, which are embodied in the significant improvement of enterprises' green technology innovation, total factor productivity, and environmental protection investment. The environmental performance of non-state-owned and large-scale resource-based enterprises is more prominently affected by the establishment of FTZs. In capital-intensive industries and the eastern region, the environmental performance improvement effect of the establishment of FTZs is more obvious. This study provides targeted suggestions for resource-based enterprises to effectively implement the environmental green development strategy.