Environmental regulation promotes green technological diversification: evidence from Chinese cities
基于2003-2016年中国城市专利数据，研究发现环境规制更严格的城市更容易进入新的绿色技术领域，且能涉足更复杂的绿色技术，这对区域绿色转型有重要启示。
Green technological diversification is crucial to regional green transition, but green technologies tend to be more radical and complex. This means they require significant efforts to scale, and we need to understand all possible levers for green technological change. Based on patenting activities in Chinese cities from 2003 to 2016, this paper finds that cities with tighter environmental regulations tend to branch into new green technology spaces. Moreover, environmental regulations help cities enter more complex green domains, and this association varies across different green types and regions. This study provides significant implications for the green transition and diversification literature.