Green Industrial Policies and Innovation Efficiency: New Evidence from Local Practices in China

Green Industrial Policies and Innovation Efficiency: New Evidence from Local Practices in China | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article Green Industrial Policies and Innovation Efficiency: New Evidence from Local Practices in China Zhihong Zhang, Ming Zhang, Xing Xu This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7687172/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 5 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Enhancing green innovation through industrial policy is a crucial task for local governments aiming to reconcile ecological sustainability with economic development. This study constructs a comprehensive dataset of 17,800 local green industrial policy documents and applies text mining techniques to analyze their structural features. Using Chinese city-level data from 2010 to 2021, we empirically investigate the effect of local green industrial policies on green innovation efficiency (GIE). The results indicate that these policies significantly improve regional GIE. Mechanism analysis reveals that green industrial policies enhance GIE by fostering new quality productive forces and alleviating resource misallocation. Moderation analysis further shows that market integration strengthens the positive effect of green industrial policies on GIE by enhancing policy coordination and reducing regional fragmentation. Heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that the effects of different types of green industrial policies vary across cities: executive policies are more effective in regions with superior resource endowments, higher environmental pressure, and advanced economic development, whereas guiding policies are more influential in smaller cities and non-priority environmental regions. These findings suggest that detailed, precise policies play a critical role in boosting GIE in major cities, while broader, guiding policies better stimulate green innovation in smaller cities. Overall, the study provides practical insights for tailoring policy design to local conditions, addressing structural tensions between ecological priorities and economic growth, and accelerating the modernization process in China. JEL Classification : O31, O38, Q55, R11, H70 Business and commerce/Economics Social science/Economics Earth and environmental sciences/Environmental social sciences Social science/Environmental studies Green Industrial Policy Green Innovation Efficiency Resource Misallocation New Quality Productive Forces Market Integration Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers invited by journal 02 Apr, 2026 Editor invited by journal 02 Apr, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 24 Sep, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 23 Sep, 2025 First submitted to journal 22 Sep, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-7687172","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":617360357,"identity":"692dda1c-6bbf-4feb-8ec2-c240696819e2","order_by":0,"name":"Zhihong Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Weifang University of Science and Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Zhihong","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":617360358,"identity":"9be06640-d167-4064-827a-81045fcdec80","order_by":1,"name":"Ming Zhang","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Nanjing Agricultural University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ming","middleName":"","lastName":"Zhang","suffix":""},{"id":617360359,"identity":"9ef5270d-0a55-4b1b-bdf8-096254484681","order_by":2,"name":"Xing Xu","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAz0lEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZgglB2GwkaDFmIGZmVgtUJDYwECsFoPjvIdfMLYdTp/fzn+A4UPZYQb+2Q34tUg286VZMJw5nLvhMDMD44xzhxkk7hzAr4WfmcfMgKECqAXoF2betsMMBhIJ+LWwgbUYHE6XbwZq+UuMFqAtxg+AtiQwAB3GzEiMFslmHjOGhDPphkC/GBzsOZfOI3GDgBaD82eMP3xss5aX7z/48MGPMms5/hkEtIC8A3fJASDmIageCJg/EKNqFIyCUTAKRjAAADaUOIw56NEpAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Shanghai Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Xing","middleName":"","lastName":"Xu","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-09-23 01:39:37","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7687172/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7687172/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":106415205,"identity":"2f2465d0-f4a9-4c70-9443-b448227075b6","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-04-08 10:33:31","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":897626,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Manuscriptwithauthordetails.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-7687172/v1_covered_74f48e45-013d-4e69-a438-e6b5bbda63b3.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Green Industrial Policies and Innovation Efficiency: New Evidence from Local Practices in China","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"scientific-reports","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"scirep","sideBox":"Learn more about [Scientific Reports](http://www.nature.com/srep/)","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"","title":"Scientific Reports","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Scientific Reports","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Green Industrial Policy, Green Innovation Efficiency, Resource Misallocation, New Quality Productive Forces, Market Integration ","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-7687172/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-7687172/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eEnhancing green innovation through industrial policy is a crucial task for local governments aiming to reconcile ecological sustainability with economic development. 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