From the perspective of environmental governance and sustainable development, this study aims to systematically evaluate the impact of green space in higher education institutions (HEIs), as an environmental governance tool, on their technological innovation efficiency (TIE).
This study uses the data envelopment analysis-Malmquist index to measure the TIE of HEIs across 31 Chinese provinces from 2008 to 2022 and applies a two-way fixed effects model to examine the impact of green spaces on their TIE.
Improvements in TIE in HEIs are primarily driven by internal efficiency gains, such as management optimization and better resource allocation, rather than by shifts in the technological frontier. Regression results further indicate that a 10 m2 increase in per capita green space is associated with an average rise of 0.039 units in TIE. This positive impact is more pronounced in non-coastal regions, low population-density areas and provinces with fewer HEIs included in the 985 and 211 initiatives. Furthermore, mechanism analysis indicates that green spaces can enhance the TIE of HEIs by facilitating international academic exchanges.
This study is among the earliest to incorporate green spaces into the framework of factors influencing TIE in HEIs, providing new empirical evidence for green campus development and highlighting the critical role of environmental governance in innovation within HEIs.
