The impact of the data factor platform on the urban green innovation: evidence from China

Abstract With the rapid expansion of the digital economy, data elements have emerged as a pivotal force shaping urban green development. This study offers a novel perspective by examining how the construction of data factor platform influences urban green innovation. From the channel of artificial intelligence (AI) development and human capital accumulation, we propose a mechanism framework. Based on the city-level data from 2010 to 2022 in China, using the multi-period Difference-in-Difference (DID) model, we explore the impact of the data factor platform construction on urban green innovation. The results reveal that data factor platform construction can stimulate urban green innovation. The data factor platform construction stimulates urban green innovation through the channel of promoting AI development and accelerating human capital accumulation. The impact of the data factor platform construction on the urban green innovation is heterogeneous. The data factor platform construction has a larger effect on the urban green innovation in the low-carbon pilot city situation and cities with larger economic scales. The further analysis results reveal that the data factor platform construction in the surrounding areas effectively promotes local green innovation. According to the above conclusions, in the green transition process, the government should pay attention to data factor platform programs and make a combination of policies to stimulate green innovations.