Research on Synergistic Co-Promotion Mechanism and Influencing Factors of Science and Technology Finance Efficiency and Carbon Emission Efficiency from the Perspective of Multi-Layer Efficiency Networks

Accurately grasping the relationship between science and technology finance efficiency (STFE) and carbon emission efficiency (CEE), and further exploring their interaction and synergistic development within the network structure are of great significance for promoting regional coordinated development, economic growth, and environmental issues. This article uses the super-efficient SBM model to measure the STFE and CEE in 30 provinces of China from 2011 to 2020, and innovatively introduces the Multi-Layer Network (MN) method to explore the characteristics of their network structure, synergistic evolution, and influencing factors. The results show that (1) the evolution of the MN structure is the result of synergistic development, which mainly forms the network pattern of the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Qinghai–Gansu region with “triple-core, multi-zone”. (2) The STFE network plays a leading role in the MN structure by influencing the CEE network structure. (3) The layers of MN are connected in a disassortative way, while the network similarity is gradually increasing. (4) The number of communities of the MN is decreasing, and the agglomeration of the community structure is gradually increasing. (5) The performance of the MN structure has better robustness than the single-layer network under different strategies and different node retention levels of destruction. (6) The economic development level, government support rate, and industrial structure upgrading are the core factors affecting the value of weighted degree and closeness centrality, while betweenness centrality is mainly affected by the urbanization level and foreign direct investment level.