Impacts of Dynamic Agglomeration Externalities on Eco-Efficiency: Empirical Evidence from China

Influence mechanisms and spatial spillover effects of industrial agglomeration on carbon productivity in China's Yellow River Basin

The ecological protection and high-quality development of the Yellow River Basin have become major national strategies in China. Therefore, reducing carbon emissions in the Yellow River Basin through efficient industrial agglomeration is necessary for achieving the goals of carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. The Yellow River Basin is an important base for energy, chemicals, raw materials, and industry in China, making it important to study the effects of different industrial agglomeration types on carbon productivity from the perspective of agglomeration externalities. Therefore, taking 2009-2019 panel data for prefecture-level cities in the Yellow River Basin, this study uses a spatial Durbin model to investigate the spatial spillover effects of industrial agglomeration (i.e., specialized, diversified, and competitive agglomeration) on carbon productivity. Furthermore, the moderating effects of urbanization level and environmental regulation are analyzed. The results reveal, first, the existence of spatial correlation in carbon productivity across different cities in the Yellow River Basin. Second, diversified and competitive agglomeration significantly increase carbon productivity, although competitive agglomeration has beggar-thy-neighbor spillover effects. Meanwhile, the effect of specialized agglomeration is not significant. Third, the effects of different types of industrial agglomeration differ significantly between cities in different locations and with different resource endowments. Fourth, urbanization level and environmental regulation have different moderating effects in the relationship between different types of industrial agglomeration and carbon productivity. These findings provide evidence for further developing rational industrial agglomeration patterns to enhance carbon productivity in the Yellow River Basin.

Impacts of Manufacturing Specialized and Diversified Agglomeration on the Eco-Innovation Efficiency—A Nonlinear Test from Dynamic Perspective

Eco-innovation is the main driver of realizing the coordinated development of resource, environmental and economic systems. This paper measures regional eco-innovation efficiency (EIE) by using the Super-Slack Based Measure (SBM) model with undesirable outputs and distinguishes different agglomeration patterns based on Chinese data of 21 manufacturing sub-industries of 30 provinces. In particular, from the perspective of the dynamic evolution of manufacturing agglomeration, the nonlinear effects of specialized and diversified agglomeration on EIE are investigated based on panel threshold regression models. The results indicate that China’s EIE shows a U-shaped changing trend. The impacts of specialized and diversified agglomeration on EIE are nonlinear and have significant three-threshold effects. There exist a U-shaped relationship between specialized agglomeration and EIE, and an S-shaped relationship between diversified agglomeration and EIE. In terms of eco-innovation, the development of diversified agglomeration is superior to that of specialized agglomeration. Overall, there is still much room for more than 70% of provinces in China to increase their EIE by optimizing the layout of manufacturing specialized and diversified agglomeration. To improve the EIE and achieve sustainable economic growth, differentiated agglomeration policies should be formulated in various stages and regions. In addition, the driving mechanism of eco-innovation should be strengthened.