Has building innovative provinces reduce environmental pollution?--evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China

Abstract

The implementation of innovative provinces as a pivotal pilot measure to promote the in‐depth advancement of ecology in China is a critical undertaking. An accurate assessment of the environmental effects of these innovative provinces is necessary to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the impact of pilot policies and facilitate the promotion of future policies with precision. In this study, the difference‐in‐differences method and the mediation model are employed to analyze the effect and mechanism of the pilot policies for innovative provinces on regional environmental pollution in 30 provinces in China from 2008-2020. The results demonstrate that the innovation provincial policies have resulted in an average reduction of 14.6% in environmental pollution annually in the pilot areas. This conclusion is still valid after robustness tests are eliminated. Furthermore, the mediation effect model provides evidence that the innovation provinces pilot policy reduces environmental pollution through technological innovation and industrial structure upgrading. Additionally, the heterogeneity analysis finds that innovation provinces pilot policy have led to a reduction of 17.4% in environmental pollution in coastal regions and a reduction of 11.7% in inland regions annually. Overall, this research contributes to the existing literature by underscoring the importance of innovation‐driven development for environmental governance and effectively promoting the construction of a resource‐saving and environment‐friendly society.