Measurement, dynamic evolution and pollution emission effects of the coupling of green finance and digital technology-evidence from China

This study uses the game theory combination weighting method to measure the level of coordinated development of green finance and digital technology coupling in China. An analysis was conducted using the Kernel density estimation method, traditional Markov chain model, and spatial Markov chain model to study the dynamic evolution characteristics and trends of the coupling and coordination level of green finance and digital technology in Chinese provinces. The results showed an upward trend in the coupling and coordination level of green finance and digital technology in the entire sample of Chinese, eastern, central, western, and northeastern provinces. Additionally, there is an observable club convergence phenomenon in the coordinated development of green finance and digital technology. The phenomenon of high-level convergence and low-level convergence is significant. The areas on the diagonal that are low-level and high-level have a higher probability of remaining stable. The Markov chain model and the spatial Markov chain model both show the “Matthew effect” in the level of coupling and coordinated development of green finance and digital technology. Empirical testing suggests that the coordinated horizontal development of green finance and digital technology can significantly promote pollution emission. Further analysis found that the coupling and coordination of green finance and digital technology achieves pollution emission by driving green innovation.