AUTHOR=Zhuang Hua , Lin Hongxi , Zhong Kaiyang 

TITLE=Spatial spillover effects and driving factors of regional green innovation efficiency in china from a network perspective

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Environmental Science

VOLUME=Volume 10 - 2022

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/environmental-science/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2022.997084

DOI=10.3389/fenvs.2022.997084

ISSN=2296-665X

ABSTRACT=The spatial spillover effect of regional green innovation efficiency (GIE) is a heated issue of the academic research, but it has rarely been discussed from a network perspective. It is quite meaningful to clarify evolutionary rules and driving factors of its spatial association network. To fill the lack of research, this study measures the regional GIE in China from 2010 to 2019 using an epsilon-based metric (EBM) model that considers undesirable outputs. A modified gravity model and social network analysis (SNA) method are used to analyze the evolutionary rules and spatial spillover effects of the network structure of GIE, and a quadratic allocation process (QAP) is employed to identify its driving factors. The findings reveal that: (1) China's regional GIE does indeed have a geographic correlation network structure, with a low network density (peaking at 0.210 in 2018) and an annually increasing slowly trend. (2) The network structure is relatively loose and has a certain hierarchical gradient, with “dense in the eastern” and “sparse in the western” characteristics. (3) The eastern provinces are at the relative center position and play a leading role in the network; the central, western, and northeastern regions are relatively inferior and play a fulcrum and conduction role. (4) Spatial adjacency, infrastructure difference, urbanization rate difference, and economic development level difference positively effect on the spatially correlated regional GIE, while differences in environmental regulations difference and R&D intensity differences have negative effects. Finally, from the perspectives of national, regional, block, and driving factors, several recommendations are made to enhance the overall improvement and balanced development of regional GIE in China.