Can Environmental Protection Taxes Improve the Efficiency of Regional Green Innovation —A Quasi-natural Experiment Based on Panel Data of 30 Provinces from 2012 to 2021

Abstract

Abstract: Based on the Super-SBM model, the green innovation efficiency of 30 provinces from 2012 to 2021 is measured. Using the implementation of the Environmental Protection Tax Law as a natural experiment, a DID model is used to analyze the impact of environmental protection tax collection policies on regional green innovation efficiency. The impact mechanism is analyzed from the perspectives of green innovation input and output, and the moderating effect of the impact is analyzed from the levels of industrial pollution control investment and digital infrastructure construction. Research shows that the overall green innovation efficiency in China is relatively stable, but there are a large number of areas with ineffective green innovation efficiency. The national average green innovation efficiency shows a decreasing distribution pattern from east to center, northeast to west. The Environmental Protection Tax Law has a significant negative impact on the efficiency of regional green innovation, particularly in the central and western regions. The Environmental Protection Tax Law has increased green innovation investment while reducing green innovation output, thereby inhibiting the improvement of regional green innovation efficiency. This mechanism is most significant in the western region. Improving the level of investment in industrial pollution control and digital infrastructure construction can alleviate the inhibitory effect of environmental protection taxes on regional green innovation efficiency.

Key words: environmental protection tax, regional green innovation efficiency, Super-SBM model, DID model

Liu Jiali, Jiang Hu, Wang Wenjing. Can Environmental Protection Taxes Improve the Efficiency of Regional Green Innovation —A Quasi-natural Experiment Based on Panel Data of 30 Provinces from 2012 to 2021[J]. Management Review, 2026, 38(4): 77-92.

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