The Effect of Intelligent Development on Green Economy Efficiency: An Analysis Based on China’s Province-Level Data

As the main driving force of the new technological revolution, intelligent development is the key to promoting high-quality economic development. This paper empirically examines the nonlinear influence of intelligent development on green economy efficiency and its action paths using provincial panel data of China from 2009 to 2021. The result provides significant evidence of a U-shaped relationship between intelligent development and green economy efficiency, indicating that intelligent development initially leads to green economy efficiency decreases before ultimately increasing. Additional analysis confirms that environmental regulation, green finance, and industrial agglomeration positively moderate the impact of intelligent development on green economy efficiency. Furthermore, heterogeneous tests reveal that in the eastern region and after the release of “Made in China 2025” in 2015, the nonlinear effect of intelligent development on green economy efficiency is more pronounced. The findings of this paper provide a beneficial reference for how to leverage intelligent technology to release new kinetic energy for green economic growth under the new development concept.