A Dynamic Evolution and Spatiotemporal Convergence Analysis of the Coordinated Development Between New Quality Productive Forces and China’s Carbon Total Factor Productivity
Open Access
- 1 April 2025
- journal article
- research article
- Published by MDPI AG in Sustainability
- Vol. 17 (7) , 3137
Abstract
The core hallmark of new quality productive forces (NQPFs) is a substantial increase in total factor productivity. Developing NQPFs tailored to local conditions significantly promote green, low-carbon, and environmentally sustainable development. This paper selects 30 provinces and municipalities in China (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and Tibet) as research samples. It employs the super-efficiency Slacks-Based Measure (SBM) model, coupling coordination degree analysis, kernel density estimation, Dagum Gini coefficient, and β-convergence analysis to measure and analyze the coupling coordination degree between NQPFs and carbon total factor productivity (CTFP). The results indicate that CTFP exhibits an upward trend overall. At the same time, the NQPFs show an initial increase, followed by a decline, with significant regional variations observed in both. There is notable regional heterogeneity in the coupling coordination degree between NQPFs and CTFP. The eastern region demonstrates the highest coupling coordination degree, followed by the central, western, and northeastern regions. The primary cause of this differential distribution is inter-regional disparities, particularly widening the gap between the eastern region and others. Further analysis reveals that, except for the eastern region, the dynamic evolution trend of coupling coordination nationwide and in other regions tends to converge. Regarding absolute β-convergence, the northeastern region converges the fastest, while the western region converges the slowest. Regarding conditional β-convergence, the convergence speeds in the central, western, and northeastern regions are consistent, but the convergence results remain unchanged. This study provides important theoretical support for achieving a balanced development of NQPFs and comprehensively enhancing CTFP, ensuring significant contributions to the sustainable development of a low-carbon economy.Keywords
Funding Information
- Key Project Fund of humanities and Social Science Research of Hebei Provincial Department of Education (ZD202318, 24457613D, 20240202215)
- 2024 Hebei Provincial Department of Science and Technology Soft Science Think Tank Project Fund (ZD202318, 24457613D, 20240202215)
- General Project Fund of Hebei Federation of Social Sciences in 2024 (ZD202318, 24457613D, 20240202215)
This publication has 60 references indexed in Scilit:
- Green finance, technological innovation, and low-carbon development in logistics industry: mechanisms and threshold effectsEnvironment, Development and Sustainability, 2025
- How digital technology contributes to the low-carbon transformation of industries—a segmentation perspective based on three major industriesEnvironment, Development and Sustainability, 2024
- Analyzing the impact of resource productivity, energy productivity, and renewable energy consumption on environmental quality in EU countries: The moderating role of productivityResources Policy, 2024
- The impact of the degree of coupling coordination between green finance and environmental regulations on firms’ innovation performance: evidence from ChinaAnnals of Operations Research, 2023
- The role of green innovation in achieving environmental sustainability in European Union countries: Testing the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesisGondwana Research, 2023
- Green technology innovation and CO2 emission in China: Evidence from a spatial-temporal analysis and a nonlinear spatial durbin modelEnergy Policy, 2022
- Carbon-sensitive meta-productivity growth and technological gap: An empirical analysis of Indian thermal power sectorEnergy Economics, 2019
- Is there any relationship between energy and TFP (total factor productivity)? A panel cointegration approach for Italian regionsEnergy, 2014
- How do trade and investment flows affect environmental sustainability? Evidence from panel dataEnvironmental Development, 2013
- Environmental regulation and U.S. states' technical inefficiencyEconomics Letters, 2008