Is technological innovation making world "Greener"? An evidence from changing growth story of China

• Published in: Technological forecasting & social change Vol. 165; p. 120516
• Main Authors: Wang, Kai-Hua, Umar, Muhammad, Akram, Rabia, Caglar, Ersin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Elsevier Inc 01.04.2021; Elsevier B.V; Elsevier Science Ltd
• Subjects: Alternative energy; Analysis; Business schools; China; Clean technology; Economic development; Economic globalization; Economic growth; Economic research; Economics; Energy sources; Environmental conditions; Expenditures; Global economy; Globalization; Green growth; Green technology; Gross domestic product; Human capital; Impact analysis; Industrial revolution 4.0; Industrialization; Innovations; Policy making; Productivity; R&D; Research & development; Research & development expenditures; Sustainable development; Sustainable energy; Technological change; Technological Innovation; China; Green growth; Human capital; Industrial revolution 4.0; China; Economic globalization; Technological Innovation
• ISSN: 0040-1625; 1873-5509
• DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2020.120516

•Examine the impact of technological innovation on green growth.•This study employs cointegration approaches for analysis in China.•Technological innovation has a positive relationship with green growth.•GDP and globalization have a negative relationship with green growth.•Human capital and R&D expenditures help to promote green growth. Countries around the world are making efforts to transform their industrial and economic structures in order to promote green growth, and environmentally adjusted multifactor productivity growth, that relies on cleaner and sustainable energy sources. With the Fourth Industrial Revolution coming into play, eco-friendly technologies have significantly improved and repaired the environmental conditions in modern economies. Many studies on the determining factors of green growth have attracted researchers and policymakers across the globe. However, thus far, no single study has reported the role of technological innovation, in the promotion of green growth. Therefore, this study examines the impact of technological innovation on green growth, in the presence of economic growth, globalization, research & development expenditures, and human capital between the periods of 1990 to 2018, with a multivariate framework in China. By using cointegration approaches, the results suggest that in the long-run, green growth depends on technological innovation, GDP, human capital, economic globalization, and R&D expenditures. Moreover, technological innovation is found to have a positive effect on green growth. On the policy side, any initiative that targets technological innovation, globalization, R&D, and human capital shall affect green growth. These policies should take approximately more than one year to start functioning.