How the integration of technology and finance empowers the collaborative development of digitalization and greenization of Chinese cities

Drawing on panel data from 284 Chinese cities spanning 2007 to 2022, this study analyzes how the Pilot Policy Promoting the Integration of Technology and Finance (PPITF) affects the collaborative development of digitalization and greenization (CDG) and investigates its underlying mechanisms using a multi-period difference-in-differences model. Digitalization is evaluated across three dimensions—digital economy, digital hard environment, and digital soft environment, while greenization is assessed through green production, green lifestyle, and green ecology, with a coupling coordination model employed to measure CDG. The empirical results indicate that PPITF significantly enhances CDG, and these findings remain robust across various tests. Mechanism analysis reveals that PPITF fosters CDG primarily through talent agglomeration and financial subsidies. Furthermore, the effects are more pronounced in central and western cities, low fiscal pressure cities and large market size cities. This study contributes new empirical evidence that PPITF facilitates both digital transformation and green development of Chinese cities.