Financial agglomeration and regional green innovation efficiency from the perspective of spatial spillover

Starting from the theoretical mechanism of the impact of financial agglomeration on regional green innovation efficiency, and using panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2009 to 2017, this study calculates a financial agglomeration index and green innovation efficiency applying principal component analysis and the slacks-based measure (SBM) of super-efficiency. The study then constructs static and dynamic spatial Durbin models using two different spatial weight matrices to empirically test the spatial spillover effect of financial agglomeration on regional green innovation efficiency. The results reveal a significant positive spatial correlation between China's inter-provincial green innovation efficiency and financial agglomeration. Both static and dynamic models demonstrate that financial agglomeration has a significant spatial spillover effect on the green innovation efficiency of adjacent provinces, but the static model overestimates the impact of spatial spillover. In addition, human capital level, technology market activity, and environmental regulation all have significant positive impacts on the green innovation efficiency of provinces and adjacent provinces.(c) 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L.U. on behalf of Journal of Innovation & Knowledge. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Automated summary

This study empirically examines the impact of financial agglomeration on regional green innovation efficiency and finds significant positive spatial correlation between financial agglomeration and inter-provincial green innovation efficiency in China. The study also reveals significant spatial spillover effects of financial agglomeration on the green innovation efficiency of adjacent provinces. Additionally, this study highlights the importance of human capital level, technology market activity, and environmental regulation in promoting green innovation efficiency.