Abstract: Applying a SBM-DEA model with undesirable output and the ML index and adopting the data of 28 prefecture-level cities of the city group along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River during 2007-2014, this paper compares the innovation efficiency and the green innovation TFP under the three conditions, i.e., without consideration of environmental pollution, with consideration of environmental pollution, and with green development. The results indicate that most cities along Yangtze River in Jiangxi and Hunan provinces are still enjoying the benefits of innovation and development, while in most cities of Hubei province there appear such phenomena as declining marginal efficiency and lacking of technical efficiency. The technical efficiency of most cities cannot keep up with the technological progress, to simply pursue technological progress is not enough to promote urban sustainable development, which need to combine green and technology innovation. Such factors as the degree of urban transportation, the government support, the number of higher education institutions in the cities, and the development of tertiary industry can play a positive role in the green innovation development of the cities.

Key words: urban green innovation efficiency; SBM-DEA model; ML index; spatial error model; Changjiang River middle reaches megalopolis