Directed technological progress driven by diversified industrial structural change.

• Multi-dimensional industrial structural changes induce directed technical progress. • Energy and environment efficiency induced by three-dimensional structural change. • Industrial structural rationalization can induce backstop technological progress. • Structural rationalization works well on all technical progress in eastern China. • Structural upgrading drives fossil energy and environment saving in Midwest China. This study probes the influence of industrial structural rationalization, upgrading, and ecologicalization on energy- and environment- directed technological progress by constructing a spatial auto-regression model using panel data of 30 Chinese provinces from 2000-2016. The empirical results show that directed technological progress differs based on multi-dimensional industrial structural changes. Specifically, at the national level, industrial structural rationalization can promote all kinds of directed technological progress. Industrial structural upgrading and ecologicalization promote fossil fuel efficiency and environmental efficiency. The effects of industrial structural change exhibit regional heterogeneity: in eastern China, industrial structural rationalization promotes all kinds of technological progress, and pollution abatement technology can be stimulated by all kinds of structural changes; in central China and western China, industrial structural upgrading can accelerate energy-saving and pollution abatement technological progress, while structural ecologicalization only promotes fossil energy efficiency. Meanwhile, industrial policies drive multi-dimensional industrial structural change and, thus, induce directed technological progress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]