Innovation is the primary driving force for urban development, and green is an inherent requirement for urban development. The sci-tech finance (STF) policy supports innovative development through financial means, which is of great significance for urban green development. Understanding the impact of STF policy on the urban land green use efficiency (LGUE) can help promote the coordinated development of the economy, society, and ecology. Based on panel data from 273 prefecture level cities, we consider the "promoting the pilot integration of science and technology and finance" as a quasi-natural experiment and use a multi-time difference-in-difference (DID) model to evaluate the impact and mechanism of STF policy on urban LGUE. Research has found that STF policy promote the green transformation of urban land use and can significantly improve the level of urban LGUE. The results of mechanism research indicate that STF policy can enhance the level of urban LGUE by accelerating industrial structure optimization and promoting green innovation development. The heterogeneity test results indicate that in the eastern region and non-resource-based cities, STF policy has a stronger effect on improving urban LGUE. Based on this, this study suggests innovating the ecological performance evaluation mechanism, improving STF policy, and implementing precise land use strategies according to regional characteristics to further enhance the urban LGUE.
Niu et al. (Sun,) studied this question.