Does green total-factor energy efficiency benefit from advanced policy zones? Evidence from national new areas in China

Whether national new areas can enhance green total-factor energy efficiency is crucial for China to achieve sustainable development and energy conservation goals. This study investigates the effect of China’s national new areas pilot policy on green total-factor energy efficiency. Based on panel data of 70 major and mid-sized cities in China from 2006 to 2021,this study adopts the difference-in-differences model to examine the effects of China’s national-level new areas on green total-factor energy efficiency. The results show that China’s national-level new areas pilot policy improves the green total-factor energy efficiency of pilot cities by 6.58%, with the policy effect lasting for 6 years. Mediation mechanism test indicates that the policy effects are mainly driven by improving green technology innovation and upgrading industrial structure. In addition, this study finds that the spillover effect of national new areas on green total-factor energy efficiency of surrounding cities exhibits a “∽” shaped trend, initially decreasing, then increasing, and subsequently decreasing again. Among them, it has a significant effect on improving green total-factor energy efficiency for cities within a range of 200–250 km. Furthermore, the impact on green total-factor energy efficiency is more pronounced in eastern and northern cities. Additionally, cities with a single-city layout within national new areas experience a significant increase in green total-factor energy efficiency. In summary, these findings offer valuable empirical evidence to guide the optimization of spatial planning for national new areas and the refinement of their innovation policies, thereby promoting sustainable development.