Understanding the spatial spillover effect of land finance on China's green development: does the moderating role of industrial structure matter?

Since the 1994 China's tax-sharing reform, land finance has far-reaching influence on fiscal system and has critical implications for green development and industrial structure optimization. Previous studies have largely focused on the environmental aspect of land finance by considering carbon emissions as environmental indicator only and ignored social and economic aspects. To fill the research gaps, this study analyzed spatial and moderating effects of land finance on green development through rationalized industrial structure, quantity of advanced industrial structure, and quality of advanced industrial structure in 246 Chinese cities from 2006 to 2019. The results document that local and surrounding land finance have negative effect on China's green development. Local land finance inhibits green development in western and large cities, while surrounding land finance deteriorates in eastern and large cities. Through mediation of industrial structure optimization, land finance accelerates green development in national, eastern, and large cities. In western cities, land finance promotes green development through quantity and quality of industrial structure upgrading. In small- and medium-sized cities, quantity of industrial structure upgrading plays a positive role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]