Effects of regional integration on industrial green transformation; [区域一体化对工业绿色转型的影响]

Based on panel data from 41 cities at or above the prefecture level in the Yangtze River Delta region from 2006 to 2018, the global Moran's / index is used to investigate the spatiotemporal correlation between regional integration and industrial green transformation. Furthermore, the mechanism of regional integration and its impact on industrial green transformation is investigated through spatial Durbin models. It is found that regional integration can promote industrial green transformation through economic scale expansion, industrial structure upgrading, and technological progress, with economic scale as the primary mechanism. Further, results show that both regional integration and industrial green transformation in the Yangtze River Delta exhibit positive spatial autocorrelation, and a significant U-shaped relationship exists between regional integration and industrial green transformation. This indicates that regional integration can significantly promote industrial green transformation only when it surpasses a certain critical threshold. Currently, most cities in the Yangtze River Delta region have approached or surpassed that U-shaped turning point of regional integration. The research findings provide practical insights for the formulation of regional integration strategies and the construction of environmentally sustainable cities in the Yangtze River Delta. © 2023 Southeast University. All rights reserved.