Exploring the Role of Green Finance and Energy Development towards High-Quality Economic Development: Application of Spatial Durbin Model and Intermediary Effect Model

Abstract

Finance is the blood of the economy, and energy is the foundation and source of power for economic and social development. It is crucial to the prosperity and development of the country, the improvement of people’s lives and the long-term stability of society. It is a booster for the implementation of the concept of green development and the realization of high-quality economic development (HQED). Based on the panel data of 11 provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2007 to 2019, this paper selects green investment and carbon emission intensity as green financial values and calculates energy development indicators from the three dimensions of energy supply, energy consumption and energy efficiency. The three dimensions of development capability, high-quality development structure and high-quality development benefit are used to construct an indicator system for high-quality economic development, and the spatial Durbin model is selected to study the spatial effects of green finance and energy development on high-quality economic development. At the same time, the mediation effect model is used to test whether there is a mediation effect in the development of green finance on high-quality economic development. The results show that: green finance has a significant positive impact on high-quality economic development, and the spatial spillover effect is not significant; energy development has a significant positive impact on high-quality economic development, and the spatial spillover effect is significantly negative; the interaction term between green finance and energy development has a significant negative impact on high-quality economic development, and the spatial spillover effect is not significant and green finance plays a partial intermediary role in the process of energy development promoting high-quality economic development. Existing research considers less of the impact of green finance on high-quality development. On the one hand, the research in this paper can theoretically supplement and improve existing research and expand the research field; on the other hand, it can provide a policy basis for the realization of high-quality development in the region, which has important practical significance for the realization of sustainable development goals in the region.