Green Knowledge Recombination and Urban Carbon Intensity: University–Industry Collaboration and the Conditioning Role of Regional Green Innovation Efficiency
Year: 2026
Type: preprint
Abstract: Green innovation is commonly assessed through patent counts or aggregate efficiency measures, while the recombination structure of regional technological knowledge remains underexplored. This study examines whether university–industry collaboration is associated with greater recombination distance and diversity and whether these dimensions are related to urban carbon intensity. Using a balanced panel of 212 Chinese cities from 2003 to 2021, we construct IPC-based indicators of recombination distance and diversity and estimate the proposed relationships using three-stage least squares, supplemented by alternative estimators, indicator specifications, and heterogeneity tests. University–industry collaboration is positively associated with both recombination dimensions, although the first-stage evidence is statistically modest. Greater recombination distance and diversity are negatively associated with subsequent urban carbon intensity in the baseline and conventional robustness specifications. Regional green innovation efficiency consistently strengthens the collaboration–distance relationship, whereas its moderating effect on recombination diversity is weaker and sensitive to the efficiency specification. The negative recombination–carbon-intensity association is more pronounced among cities with high initial carbon intensity and remains evident under both mean- and median-based initial-period classifications. Dynamic specifications and exclusion-restriction sensitivity tests yield less stable estimates after accounting for carbon-intensity persistence and allowing FiscalRD to enter the outcome equation directly. The findings are therefore interpreted as conditional associations consistent with the proposed pathway rather than as definitive causal effects. Overall, the results suggest that the structure, rather than only the volume, of green innovation is associated with low-carbon transition, although the strength of this relationship depends on model specification, regional conditions, and instrument strength.
Source: Research Square
Authors: Qing Lu, Yayu Xu, Zehai Zhou, Jianping Gu
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7204231853