An Empirical Study on Dynamic Evolution of Industrial Structure and Green Economic Growth—Based on Data from China’s Underdeveloped Areas

From the experiences of developed countries or areas, advanced industrial structure is an effective way to promote economic transformation and high-quality growth. This paper uses the economic development data of seven underdeveloped provinces in China in 10 years to study the relationship between industrial structure upgrading, industrial structure rationalization and green economic growth. The result shows: (1) The relationship between the upgrading of industrial structure and green total factor productivity (GTFP) is a non-linear relationship that is difficult to fit. (2) There are two turning points in the relationship curve between industrial structure upgrading and green total factor productivity (these can be called “rationalization points”). (3) The “rationalization points” are affected by the rationalization of the industrial structure. (4) The “rationalization point” divides the relationship curve into three intervals. Within the threshold range [0.661, 0.673] of the rationalization of the industrial structure, the upgrading of the industrial structure promotes the increase of green total factor productivity, while outside the range, the upgrading of the industrial structure inhibits the increase of green total factor productivity. Therefore, industrial development in underdeveloped areas should first implement rationalization of industrial structure. After the rational adjustment of the industrial structure, we will then develop a high-level industrial structure to improve the green TFP