Promoting or inhibiting: establishment of eco-industrial parks and green development

Abstract

Abstract Green development, focused on resource conservation and environmental improvement, has become a new imperative for economic progress. In the current era of high-quality and green development, eco-industrial parks (EIPs) are powerful engines for promoting both green transformation of industrial development and ecological civilization. However, despite the large-scale establishment of EIPs in China in recent years, their effectiveness in promoting green development is still unknown. To address this gap, this study employs the difference-in-difference (DID) framework to explore the effect of EIPs construction on green development in China. Results indicate that the establishment of EIPs significantly promotes the green development, with the central region having a more significant impact than the eastern and western regions. While EIPs in the western region have some inhibiting effect on green development, urban green development can be enhanced more effectively through EIPs establishment in cities with higher administrative levels. Moreover, the study identifies the influence paths through technological innovation and industrial agglomeration. Robustness tests confirm the positive effect of EIPs construction on green development. These findings provide a foundation for optimizing EIPs construction and achieving a win-win situation between economic and environmental performance, thereby transforming the development mode of a green economy.