Does the construction of smart cities make cities green? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China

This paper focuses on whether the construction of smart cities can expand green space. Based on smart cities policy in China, a quasi-natural experiment is conducted by using the Heterogeneity - Robust estimator in differences-in-differences model. According to detailed theoretical analysis and rigorous empirical research, and main conclusions are as follows. First, the construction of smart cities can directly expand the green space due to the land resource allocation. The above basic conclusion remains reliable after a series of robustness tests. Second, the effect of construction of smart cities on the green space is heterogenous. The construction of smart city in the three batches has a positive impact on expending green space and the strongest positive effect on green space is seen in the smart cities established in 2012. The high-level economic scale and high-level science and technology are vital premises for smart cities to expand green space. Third, the construction of smart cities can indirectly expand the green space by promoting online work and services and increasing disposable income. Last, the “Broadband China” Strategy has a positively moderate effect on the construction of smart cities in expanding green space.