Threshold Effect of High-Tech Industrial Scale on Green Development—Evidence from Yangtze River Economic Belt

Abstract

Based on the panel data of 11 regions in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 1998 to 2016, we tested and analyzed the effects of high-tech industrial expansion on green development. For these regions in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, we wanted to investigate the potential linear relationship between the scale of high-tech industry and green development or the possible threshold effect. We wanted to determine if this relationship is different in various regions of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. According to the empirical test, we found that: (1) for the entire Yangtze River Economic Belt region, the influence of high-tech industrial scale on green development doubled the threshold effect, and a marginal efficiency diminishing effect existed with the further increase in scale; (2) due to the differences among the regions, the threshold effect was different in different regions, with a double threshold effect in the lower reaches, a single threshold effect in the middle reaches, and no threshold effect in the upper reaches; and (3) regarding the high-tech industrial scale, the downstream areas were too large to weaken its promoting effect on green development. In the middle reaches, the positive impact on green development was still increasing, and the high-tech industrial scale should be further expanded. However, in the upstream areas, high-tech industrial scales did not reach the threshold value and the relationship between the high-tech industrial scale and green development was linear. Therefore, local high-tech industries should be cultivated and developed.

The Impact of High-Tech Industry Agglomeration on Green Economy Efficiency—Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt

“…The green economy efficiency value of Anhui and Hunan in 2008 was 0.71 and rose to 0.80 in 2017. The green economy efficiency value increased steadily but the increase rate was small, mainly because Anhui and Hunan are located in central China where the level of foreign trade is low [18]. The development of high-tech industries relatively lags behind.…”

“…The total profit was 47.14 billion CNY, signaling an annual increase of 22.23%, with 79,194 items in 2016, indicating an annual increase of 13.17%. The export delivery value was 2549.8 billion CNY, displaying an annual increase of 5.59%, and the fixed assets investment was 119.2 billion CNY, an annual increase of 17.69% ( Figure 3) [17][18][19]. Promoting the development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt will help to produce gold benefits in the golden waterways.…”

Guided High-Quality Development, Resources, and Environmental Forcing in China’s Green Development

“…829-844). The influence of high-tech industry on green development doubled the effect [15] (pp. 1432).…”

“…One opinion asserts that implementing high-quality developmental policies can advance green development, with "green" being generally responsible for high-quality development [1] (pp. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. High-quality eco-environments and resources are major components of high-quality development.…”

“…"Forcing methods" attempt to dissolve social contradictions in a way that tackles practical needs during reform and development [5] (pp. [4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] by generating impacts based on orientation, regulation, and creativity [6] (pp. 141-150).…”