Analysis of technological innovation on provincial green development levels of logistics industry in China

Abstract

Abstract Logistics industry is a crucial component in modern economy, but it also causes environmental damage. Technological innovation is an important measure to mitigate environmental degradation. To explore the impact of technological innovation on the provincial green logistics development level in China, this study utilizes a generalized estimating equations (GEE) regression model to analyze a panel data of 30 provinces during 2001-2019. Firstly, entropy method is applied to calculate the green logistics development level based on an index system considering green factors. Secondly, a GEE model which considers the correlation among different observations is used to investigate the impact of technological innovation, trade openness, government financial investment, logistics infrastructure, energy protection and energy intensity on green logistics development level. Moreover, regional heterogeneity is also analyzed in this paper by comparing the regression results of the Eastern region, Central region and Western region.Based on the above analysis, several conclusions are drawn: (1) Technological innovation positively affect green logistics development level, but its impact gradually decrease after a certain point. (2) Trade openness positively influence green logistics development level. (3) Logistics infrastructure positively affect green logistics development level. (4) Energy intensity of logistics industry negatively affect green logistics development level. Related policy recommendations are proposed based on our finding.