Can foreign trade and technological innovation affect green development: evidence from countries along the Belt and Road

Foreign trade and technological innovation are major driving forces for the development of the Belt and Road Initiative. This paper investigates the green development of 32 countries along the Belt and Road during the period of 2010-2018, and uses the Data Envelopment Analysis method to measure the green development level of countries along the Belt and Road. Based on the dynamic panel model, the system generalized method of moments is used to estimate the impact of foreign trade and technological innovation on green development. The results indicate that most of countries along the Belt and Road are in inefficient green development, and that there is still much room for improvement. Meanwhile, foreign trade and technological innovation can significantly contribute to green development of countries along the Belt and Road. Further research has found that there is a threshold effect on the impact of technological innovation on green development of countries along the Belt and Road. Therefore, it is suggested that policymakers should promote green development of countries along the Belt and Road by strengthening their trade flows, improving innovation efficiency, changing the way of urbanization and optimizing their health care systems.