Does the construction of national eco-industrial demonstration parks improve green total factor productivity? Evidence from prefecture-level cities in China

Abstract

This study conducted quasi-natural experiments based on the panel data of 239 prefecture-level cities in China from 2005 to 2017. The difference-in-difference (DID) and mediation effect model are used to test the impact and mechanism of the construction of national eco-industrial demonstration parks (NEDP) on green total factor productivity (GTFP). The results show that: (1) The construction of NEDP has significantly improved the urban GTFP, and the conclusion is still valid after running the robustness test. (2) Mechanism analysis shows that the construction of NEDP has improved GTFP through technological innovation and industrial structure upgrading. (3) The heterogeneity results reveal that NEDP has a significant positive effect on GTFP in the central and western regions, while the effect was insignificant in the eastern region. Moreover, NEDP significantly contributes to GTFP in resource-based and non-resource-based cities, while the contribution of resource-based cities is greater than that of non-resource-based cities. This study provides a reference for China to further promote the construction quality of NEDP and green development.