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Investigating how the local government attention affects green total factor productivity (GTFP) might have a surprising effect on how to develop new quality productive forces. We use a System GMM dynamic panel model to assess how local government attention affects GTFP, with green technology innovation a the mediating variable and fiscal decentralization as the moderating variable, using data of Chinese cities from 2007 to 2020. The research findings demonstrate that local government attention can considerably increase GTFP in Chinese cities, with a significant time-lag effect, and the increase in GTFP in the time dimension is cumulative from year to year. The influence of local government attention on GTFP is heterogeneous among cities with different geographical locations, administrative levels, resource backgrounds and tourism development degrees. Local government attention can encourage green technology innovation, thus promoting GTFP. A moderating influence of fiscal decentralization is captured in the relationship between local government attention and GTFP. This paper concludes that the government should enhance the decision-making power of action, formulate differentiated and reasonable environmental regulations in different cities, strongly support the progress of green technology, and improve the local assessment mechanism, to promote the new quality productive forces. • Local government attention can significantly increase the GTFP, with a significant time-lag effect. • Local government attention impacts GTFP heterogeneously among different cities. • Green technology innovation mediates the effect of local government attention, and fiscal decentralization moderates it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional finance exhibits several limitations in its capacity to drive the advancement of the green economy. In contrast, emerging Digital Inclusive Finance (DIF) uses digitization as a tool to address these shortcomings inherent in traditional financial systems. This research employs panel data encompassing 275 cities in China over the period from 2011 to 2021 to examine the relationship between DIF and Urban Water Efficiency (UWE). The findings of this study demonstrate a compelling positive association between DIF and the enhancement of UWE, intensified by significant spatial spillover effects. These results remain robust across a range of tests. It's worth noting that DIF primarily boosts pure technical efficiency, rather than scale efficiency, which are two important aspects of UWE. Delving deeper into the mechanisms that clarify how DIF reinforces green innovation and enhances the green total factor productivity, thereby contributing to UWE. Further exploration indicates that DIF has a more significant impact on UWE in cities with populations exceeding 5 million, no water resource tax, and strict environmental regulation. The combined efforts of financial and environmental regulation by the Chinese government play a key role in strengthening the positive relationship between DIF and UWE. Consequently, this research provides stronger evidence that financial development enhances environmental efficiency and offers new insights for urban water resource management. [Display omitted] • Digital inclusive finance has a significant positive effect on urban water efficiency. • Digital inclusive finance boosts green innovation, enhancing urban water efficiency. • Digital inclusive finance impact on urban water efficiency shows spatial spillover. • Heterogeneity analysis based on population, water resource tax, and environmental regulation factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ensuring the coordinated development of carbon emissions and green economy has important implications for China's sustainable development. For examining the coordinated development between carbon emissions and green economy in China and its influencing factors, this study assessed the coupling coordination degree (CCD) between carbon emission intensity (CEI) and green total factor productivity (GTFP) using the coupling coordination degree model (CCDM), revealed the spatiotemporal evolution law of CCD using a spatial correlation model and empirically examined their influencing factors using the spatial Durbin model (SDM) to test influencing factors. The following findings were made: (1) The green economy in China synchronously developed with carbon emission reductions from 2000 to 2020. (2) CCD has global spatial concentration effects, and the objects are divided into three categories: cold spots, hot spots, and random distributions. (3) Government scale expansion, transportation volume increase, industrial agglomeration, and urbanization are all not conducive to CCD, but population density and industrial structure upgrading have opposite effects. To promote the coordinated development of carbon emissions and green economy, we can improve the efficiency of energy utilization and reduce carbon emissions, by using clean energy, adopting clean production technology, increasing non-productive public investment in environmental protection, industrial agglomeration in reasonable space, and improving the moderate population agglomeration. Our findings offer valuable insight for understanding the relationship between carbon emission reduction and green economic development. They will allow authorities to take specific actions to ensure the coordinated development of CEI and GTFP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]