Can comprehensive environmental regulation trigger green innovation? evidence from the low-carbon city pilot policy and green patents of listed industrial enterprises.

Using the gradual promotion of China's low-carbon city pilot policy (LCCPP) as a quasi-natural experiment, this study investigates the impact of comprehensive environmental regulation on green innovation represented by green patents of listed industrial enterprises. Our results revealed that enterprises located in cities with LCCPP produced a high intensity and volume of green patents. LCCPP increased the proportion of green invention, green utility model, and total green patents by 1.26%, 0.72%, and 0.84%, respectively. Moreover, we found that enterprises located in eastern cities and those with high research and development intensity and productivity were likely to benefit most from LCCPP, and LCCPP also triggered green innovation in high-emission and high-energy-consuming industrial sectors. Our results suggest that, for developing economies, a flexible and comprehensive environmental regulation that combines command-and-control and market-based regulations would be preferable for promoting enterprises' green innovation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]