The Effect of Intelligent Development on Green Economy Efficiency: An Analysis Based on China’s Province-Level Data

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report (Previous Reviewer 1)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript has been systematically revised in accordance with the suggestions provided previously. Subsequently, to align with the journal's formatting requirements and typesetting, several detailed issues have been refined.

Author Response

Dear reviewer

We sincerely thank you for your careful review and positive comments to improve the quality and science of our manuscript.

Reviewer 2 Report (Previous Reviewer 2)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear authors!

You've done a good job, but there are still some small comments to make:

It seems to me that for this kind of research, we need to put in a separate section “Literature Review” for this kind of research.

Author Response

Dear reviewer

We sincerely appreciate the valuable comments. However, at present, there are few literatures related to the relationship between intelligent development and green economy efficiency. If we put in a separate section “Literature Review”, The content of the section will not be plentiful. Therefore, after referring to some literature of Sustainability, we put the literature review in the introduction section, which can be found in P2.Line8-35.

Thank you again for your positive comments and valuable suggestions to improve the quality of our manuscript.

Reviewer 3 Report (New Reviewer)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

This paper aims to analyze the nonlinear impact of intelligent development on green economy efficiency in China, utilizing provincial panel data from 2009 to 2021. It identifies a U-shaped relationship, highlighting the initial decline and subsequent improvement in green economy efficiency, while emphasizing the moderating roles of environmental regulation, green finance, and industrial agglomeration. The study's strengths lie in its empirical rigor, its focus on regional and policy heterogeneity, and its valuable insights into leveraging intelligent technologies for sustainable economic growth under China's new development paradigm.

 

1.Clarity and Focus

The introduction provides a broad context but could benefit from a more concise focus on the specific research question. Consider streamlining the background discussion to highlight the primary research objectives and gaps more directly.

 

2.Methodology Transparency

The methodology section (Section 3) needs more clarity on the construction of models and selection of variables. Specify the data sources, time frame, and statistical techniques used to ensure replicability and enhance the robustness of the findings.

 

3.Policy Implications

While the paper promises policy recommendations, the discussion of these implications (Section 5) could be more detailed and actionable. Highlight specific strategies for stakeholders, such as policymakers or industry leaders, to leverage intelligent development for green growth.

 

4.Language and Grammar

Although the paper is generally well-written, there are minor grammatical issues and awkward phrasing (e.g., "pursuing green growth has emerged as the primary objective within economic 3planning in China"). Review the manuscript for grammatical accuracy and clarity.

 

5.Consistency in Terminology

The paper uses terms like "intelligent development," "green economic efficiency," and "green growth" interchangeably at times. Provide clear definitions for key terms early in the paper and use them consistently throughout.

Author Response

 Dear reviewer

We sincerely thank you for your valuable feedback that we have used to improve the quality of our manuscript, the detailed corrections are listed below.

1.Clarity and Focus

The introduction provides a broad context but could benefit from a more concise focus on the specific research question. Consider streamlining the background discussion to highlight the primary research objectives and gaps more directly.

We think this is an excellent suggestion, have re-written this part and deleted some content according to your suggestion, which can be found in P1.Line28-37.

2.Methodology Transparency

The methodology section (Section 3) needs more clarity on the construction of models and selection of variables. Specify the data sources, time frame, and statistical techniques used to ensure replicability and enhance the robustness of the findings.

Thank you for your valuable feedback. We have revised the methodology section to provide a more detailed description of the data analysis methods. Here we did not list the changes but marked in red in the revised paper.

 3.Policy Implications

While the paper promises policy recommendations, the discussion of these implications (Section 5) could be more detailed and actionable. Highlight specific strategies for stakeholders, such as policymakers or industry leaders, to leverage intelligent development for green growth.

We have expanded the policy implications section to providea more in-depth discussion of implications , which can be found in P13.Line 12-53.

 4.Language and Grammar

Although the paper is generally well-written, there are minor grammatical issues and awkward phrasing (e.g., "pursuing green growth has emerged as the primary objective within economic 3planning in China"). Review the manuscript for grammatical accuracy and clarity.

We tried our best to improve the and tired our best to polish the language in the revised manuscript, and we hope the revised manuscript couldbe acceptable for you.

5.Consistency in Terminology

The paper uses terms like "intelligent development," "green economic efficiency," and "green growth" interchangeably at times. Provide clear definitions for key terms early in the paper and use them consistently throughout.

We have made some changes to the manuscript, here we did not list the changes but marked in red in the revised paper.

Thank you again for your positive comments and valuable suggestions to improve the quality of our manuscript.

Round 2

Reviewer 3 Report (New Reviewer)

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Accept in present form

This manuscript is a resubmission of an earlier submission. The following is a list of the peer review reports and author responses from that submission.

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

The manuscript titled "The Nonlinear Impact of Intelligent Development on Green Economic Efficiency" addresses a contemporary issue by integrating the burgeoning field of intelligence with the pressing concerns of green economic development. but there are obvious issues with the research design, and specific comments are as follows:

 

1. The introduction's background section is somewhat cursory, particularly in its treatment of the green economy. A more detailed exposition on the current state of green economic research and its interplay with intelligent development is warranted.

2. The manuscript posits a nonlinear relationship as its central hypothesis. However, the theoretical underpinning of Hypothesis 1 is tenuous, supported by a solitary citation.

3. The research methodology is flawed by the omission of a Tobit model, which is crucial given the censored nature of the dependent variable, ranging from [0,1]. The employment of OLS regression is likely to skew the results. The manuscript's empirical findings are questionable, with R-squared values excessively high—often surpassing 0.9—and in some cases, reaching an implausibly high 0.979 for small sample sizes.

4. The manuscript's discussion of both graphical and empirical results is superficial and lacks depth. There is a conspicuous absence of interpretation and debate, particularly regarding the economic implications and practical significance of the findings. Moreover, the manuscript fails to engage with existing literature to substantiate the validity of its results, casting doubt on the research design and the credibility of the findings.

5. Minor issues include: 1. An error in the citation within the second line of the third paragraph of the introduction requires verification. 2. The headings 3.2.2, 3.2.3, and 3.2.4 appear to be directly copied from a template and have not been customized to fit the manuscript's content.

Author Response

Dear reviewer

We sincerely thank you for your valuable feedback that we have used to improve the quality of our manuscript, the detailed corrections are listed below.

1. The introduction's background section is somewhat cursory, particularly in its treatment of the green economy. A more detailed exposition on the current state of green economic research and its interplay with intelligent development is warranted.

We think this is an excellent suggestion. We have added this part according to your suggestion where the change can be found in P1. Line38-42 and P2. Line1-11.

2. The manuscript posits a nonlinear relationship as its central hypothesis. However, the theoretical underpinning of Hypothesis 1 is tenuous, supported by a solitary citation.

As suggested by the reviewer, We have researched and added more literatures to support on the relationship between intelligent development and green economy efficiency into the Hypothesis part (P3. Line9-40) in the revised manuscript.

3. The research methodology is flawed by the omission of a Tobit model, which is crucial given the censored nature of the dependent variable, ranging from [0,1]. The employment of OLS regression is likely to skew the results. The manuscript's empirical findings are questionable, with R-squared values excessively high—often surpassing 0.9—and in some cases, reaching an implausibly high 0.979 for small sample sizes.

Thank you again for your valuable suggestions. According to your comment and several references, we decided to utilize the Tobit model to re-process the data and modify the text of the paper based on the results, the model change had little effect on our results. The prior model's over-high R-square is due to the use of the “reghdfe” command in Stata for data analysis, which did not include time as a control variable in the regression equation, resulting in an extremely high natural fitting R-square. As a result, we re-analyzed the data using the command “xtreg”, and the obtained R-square was reasonable, We added this result to the robustness test.

4. The manuscript's discussion of both graphical and empirical results is superficial and lacks depth. There is a conspicuous absence of interpretation and debate, particularly regarding the economic implications and practical significance of the findings. Moreover, the manuscript fails to engage with existing literature to substantiate the validity of its results, casting doubt on the research design and the credibility of the findings.

We have expanded the discussion section to provide a more in-depth analysis of our research results (P9. Line8-24 and P11. Line24-33). These additions aim to highlight the significance and contribution of our research.

5. Minor issues include: 1. An error in the citation within the second line of the third paragraph of the introduction requires verification. 2. The headings 3.2.2, 3.2.3, and 3.2.4 appear to be directly copied from a template and have not been customized to fit the manuscript's content.

Thanks for your careful checks. We are sorry for our carelessness. Based on your comments, we have made the corrections.

Thank you again for your positive comments and valuable suggestions to improve the quality of our manuscript.

Reviewer 2 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Authors!

Thank you for the opportunity to review your manuscript, «Nonlinear Effect of intelligent development on green economy efficiency».

I find this topic interesting and relevant to contemporary societal issues.

However, after careful consideration, I regret to inform you that the manuscript does not meet the standards required for publication in a scientific journal. My decision is based on several key factors that need to be addressed:

1. I suggest revising the title of the manuscript. I suggest revising the title of the manuscript. This is important because the scientific community needs to be clear about what the study will be about.

2. Now I would ask that the annotation be corrected. Add the purpose, objectives of this study.

3. In the introduction section, you need to answer the main question: Informing performance evaluation. How should it be done?

4. If every line in the manuscript were numbered, the Chinese should be removed at some points. I don't understand .

Comments on the Quality of English Language

Review the manuscript for clarity and coherence in language. Minor editing may be required to improve readability and ensure that complex concepts are communicated effectively.

Author Response

Dear reviewer

We sincerely thank you for your valuable feedback that we have used to improve the quality of our manuscript, the detailed corrections are listed below.

1. I suggest revising the title of the manuscript. I suggest revising the title of the manuscript. This is important because the scientific community needs to be clear about what the study will be about.

We sincerely appreciate the valuable comments. We have re-written the title according to your suggestion where the change can be found in P1. Line2-4.

2. Now I would ask that the annotation be corrected. Add the purpose, objectives of this study.

According to your comment we add the purpose, objectives of this study where the change can be found in P2. Line11-16

3. In the introduction section, you need to answer the main question: Informing performance evaluation. How should it be done?

We think this is an excellent suggestion. We add this part according to your suggestion where the change can be found in P3. Line3-6.

4. If every line in the manuscript were numbered, the Chinese should be removed at some points. I don't understand.

We are sorry for our careless mistakes. Based on your comments, we have made the corrections.

Thank you again for your positive comments and valuable suggestions to improve the quality of our manuscript.

Reviewer 3 Report

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Thank you for the opportunity to evaluate this article. I found the research topic interesting.

This paper examines the impact of intelligent development on green economy efficiency in China from 2009 to 2021. It finds a U-shaped relationship, with initial decreases before increasing. Environmental regulation, green finance, and industrial agglomeration moderate the impact. The study highlights the importance of leveraging intelligent technology for green development under the new development concept.  

The research on Intelligent Development, based on provincial panel data from 2009-2021, has limitations such as limiting global applicability, addressing regional disparities, and lacking a robust explanation for regional heterogeneity. The model heavily relies on the Environmental Kuznets Curve hypothesis and lacks exploration of alternative frameworks. The study also emphasizes positive moderation through environmental regulation, green finance, and industrial agglomeration but needs further explanation for potential contradictory roles. The metrics used may not capture all aspects of its impact, and the article does not address the side effects.

Overall we may observe:

• Lack of nuanced examination of nonlinear mechanisms: The U-shaped relationship between intelligent development and green economic efficiency is not fully explored.
• Insufficient exploration of alternative trends like inverted U-shapes in different contexts.
• Insufficient comparison with non-linearities in different technological contexts: Studies from industries beyond intelligent development could provide insights.
• Neglect of global context: The article neglects to connect findings to international perspectives or broader trends.
• Overlooked evaluation of long-term sustainability: Focus on short-term impacts and regional variabilities.
• Under-explored role of socio-economic factors: Insufficient analysis of demographic shifts, education systems, and government fiscal policies.

Author Response

Dear reviewer

We sincerely thank you for your valuable feedback that we have used to improve the quality of our manuscript, the detailed corrections are listed below.

1.Lack of nuanced examination of nonlinear mechanisms: The U-shaped relationship between intelligent development and green economic efficiency is not fully explored.

We have expanded the discussion section to provide a more in-depth analysis of our research results (P9. Line8-24 and P11. Line24-33). These additions aim to highlight the significance and contribution of our research.

2.Insufficient exploration of alternative trends like inverted U-shapes in different contexts.

We sincerely thank feedback. We agree with you that inverted U-shapes in different contexts would be useful to understand. However, limited by the experimental samples, it is impractical to get other results. In the future, we would pay more attention to explore alternative trends.

3.Insufficient comparison with non-linearities in different technological contexts: Studies from industries beyond intelligent development could provide insights.

We think this is an excellent suggestion. However, in the process of our research, it is difficult to find data of subsectors at present, so we add this suggestion into limitations and future recommendations where can be found in P14. Line17-20, we hope that further research will be carried out in future studies

4.Neglect of global context: The article neglects to connect findings to international perspectives or broader trends.

We sincerely appreciate the valuable comments. We used the Chinese data collection for two purposes: First, as the world's largest developing country, China is dedicated to pursuing a synergistic path between economic growth and environmental protection. The Chinese government has incorporated ecological civilization construction into its overarching national development strategy, as well as a number of important environmental protection initiatives and policies, including the sustainable development strategy and carbon peak carbon neutral action. This study can bring methodological enlightenment for the intelligent promotion of green growth in China. Second, because intelligent development is still in its early stages, the academic world has yet to establish a single standard for its connotation measuring and measurement methodologies, which makes it difficult to discover relevant foreign data in this work. In the future, we hope to collaborate with overseas experts to help build an evaluation index system for intelligent development and green economy efficiency in other countries.

5.Overlooked evaluation of long-term sustainability: Focus on short-term impacts and regional variabilities.

We think this is an excellent suggestion. However, in the process of our research, it is difficult to find data of longer time periods at present, so we add this suggestion into limitations and future recommendations where can be found in P14. Line14-17, we hope that further research will be carried out in future studies

6.Under-explored role of socio-economic factors: Insufficient analysis of demographic shifts, education systems, and government fiscal policies.

We included control variables related to socio-economic factors such as financial development and government intervention in the analysis of the data to address the possible impact of socio-economic factors.

Thank you again for your positive comments and valuable suggestions to improve the quality of our manuscript.