Influence and effect of industrial agglomeration on urban green total factor productivity—On the regulatory role of innovation agglomeration and institutional distance

Under the background of China’s high-quality economic growth with total factor productivity (abbreviated as TFP) growth as a key driver, this study attempts to integrate heterogeneous industrial agglomeration, innovation agglomeration, and institutional distance into the theoretical analysis framework of urban green total factor productivity (abbreviated as GTFP). The impact and effect of industrial agglomeration on urban GTFP growth, and the moderating role of innovation agglomeration and institutional distance in the above effects are examined empirically. The findings indicate a significant inverted “U” relationship between the three types of industrial agglomeration and urban GTFP growth. From the critical values, the three types of industrial agglomeration do not cross the critical value on the whole, showing the promoting effect on the growth of urban GTFP. Under the different types of city divisions (small, medium and large cities, east-central-west cities, and north-south cities), the effect of the three types of industrial agglomeration on GTFP growth in different types of cities has typical heterogeneity. Innovation agglomeration and institutional distance play a positive regulatory role in the impact of industrial agglomeration on the growth of urban GTFP. It is further found that innovation agglomeration plays a threshold role in the impact of industrial agglomeration on urban GTFP, i.e., the positive contribution effect of three types of industrial agglomeration on urban GTFP growth gradually increases with the increase of urban innovation agglomeration. This paper introduces the research results of industrial agglomeration on urban GTFP and provides policy implications for improving GTFP.