Artificial intelligence and green technology innovation: Evidence from 265 cities in China

The objective of this article is to explore the potential contributions of artificial intelligence to green technology innovation. Most of the existing literature employs mean models, such as two-way fixed effects models and difference-in-difference methods, to examine green technology innovation. However, these approaches often overlook the significance of extreme values. The panel quantile model is capable of simulating the comprehensive effects of explanatory variables on the conditional distribution of dependent variables, including the influence of extreme values. In contrast to existing literature, this study utilizes 2009-2023 panel data from 265 cities in China and employs a panel quantile model to examine the impact of artificial intelligence on green technology innovation. The findings indicate that artificial intelligence significantly promotes green technology innovation across all quantiles of cities. Heterogeneity analysis reveals that, from the perspective of urban scale, the impact of artificial intelligence on green technology innovation is notably more pronounced in small and medium-sized cities compared to mega and large cities. Furthermore, in terms of resource endowment, the incentivizing effect of artificial intelligence on green technology innovation is greater in non-resource-rich cities than in resource-rich cities. From a regional standpoint, the influence of artificial intelligence on green technology innovation is stronger in the western region than in central and eastern regions. Additionally, mechanism analysis underscores that informatization plays a critical role in facilitating advancements in green technology across all quantile cities. However, it appears that industrial structure upgrading has not contributed to driving progress in green technology. The research results provide important evidence for city managers to formulate green technology policies and propose corresponding policy recommendations.