Rapid Transportation and Green Technology Innovation in Cities—From the View of the Industrial Collaborative Agglomeration

Abstract

This research uses a two-way fixed effect model to examine the correlation between the development of high-speed rail and the growth of green technology innovation by adopting the panel data of 284 Chinese cities between 2004 and 2013. The empirical results show that the supply of high-speed rail services has a significant promoting influence on the advance of urban green technology innovation capabilities. In particular, cities located in central and western China, along with those cities with relatively little government support or relatively backward public cultural infrastructure, have more chances to benefit from the supply of high-speed rail services. In addition, by employing a mediating effect model, this article finds that the industrial collaborative agglomeration plays an important mediating role between high-speed rail and regional green technology innovation. Therefore, this article suggests that the Chinese central government should continue to accelerate the construction of the rapid transportation network and expand the coverage of high-speed rail services in China to increase the growth of green technology innovation and achieve steady and sustained economic growth in China. Meanwhile, local governments should actively guide the collaborative agglomeration of manufacturing and related producer service industries under local conditions to stimulate the expansion of the green technology innovation market.