Evaluation of Industrial Green Transformation in the Process of Urbanization: Regional Difference Analysis in China

Abstract

Population mobility and the expansion of construction land in industrial development promote urbanization, and the sustainable development of cities creates requirements for the green transformation of industry. This paper uses the directional distance function (DDF) and the global Malmquist–Luenberger (GML) index method—including urbanization factors—to calculate the industrial green transformation (IGT) index in China, and to analyze its evolution and spatial distribution characteristics. The results show that ignoring the urbanization factor will lead to the overestimation of the IGT. The growth of the index has multiple stages, and it shows a decreasing order in the middle, east and west regions. Overall, the distribution of the index spreads out over time, and the gap widens. In terms of spatial correlation, high values are mostly concentrated in the eastern region and low values are mostly concentrated in the western region, and the gap in the eastern region is larger than those in the central and western regions. Therefore, in addition to the transformation of industrial production into a circular economy model, it is also necessary to promote the circulation of technical talent between regions in the development of urbanization, reducing the unbalanced development between regions and comprehensively promoting the green transformation of industry.

Can Urban Green Transformation Reduce the Urban–Rural Income Gap? Empirical Evidence Based on Spatial Durbin Model and Mediation Effect Model

“…This may be due to the fact that cities in the eastern region have developed infrastructure, technology levels, and highly skilled personnel that can facilitate digitization and innovation levels. Therefore, cities have the highest level of green transformation development and can best alleviate the URG [123]. The "latecomer advantage" in infrastructure and technology in the central region has a slightly weaker dampening effect on the URG than in the eastern region.…”

The spatio‐temporal interactive effects between ecological urbanization and industrial ecologization in the Yangtze River Delta region

“…There is a mutually reinforcing and interdependent symbiotic relationship between industrialization and urbanization. Industrialization provides the material foundation and economic support for urbanization, while urbanization provides a vast market and labor resources for industrialization (Yue & Zhang, 2022). As urbanization continues to advance, industrialization has undergone further development, giving rise to a new stage of urban industrialization.…”

Impact of Digital Finance on Industrial Green Transformation: Evidence from the Yangtze River Economic Belt

“…(3) Studies on the driving forces of IGT. Scholars focused on the impact of environmental regulation [24,25], technological innovation [26,27], energy consumption [28], and urbanization [29] on IGT. Zhai and An found that environmental regulation, as a moderating variable, positively influences the green transformation of manufacturing by acting on technological progress and government behavior [30].…”