Does FDI improve green total factor energy efficiency under heterogeneous environmental regulation? Evidence from China

Environmental regulation influences urban land green use efficiency: Incentive or disincentive effect? Evidence from China

China's crude economic development has led to high pollution and inefficiency of urban land use. Environmental regulation (Er) is crucial for governments to promote green growth and efficient land use. Using a dataset of 271 cities in China from 2011 to 2020, this paper investigates the threshold effect of green innovation in science and technology and industrial structure optimization on Er impacts of urban land green use efficiency (Ulee). The results show that (1) Er positively affects Ulee. (2) There is a threshold effect of green innovation in science and technology (Gin) and industrial structure upgrading (Ind) in Er affecting Ulee, and the force decreases as the threshold value increases. (3) Within the examination of heterogeneity, the impact of Er on Ulee is more significant in eastern, high levels of urbanization and large cities, but the force of action is smaller. Based on the nonlinear force of Er, it is crucial to maximize the effectiveness of green land use by giving full play to the interactive synergistic effect of the "combination box" and dynamically and flexibly adjusting the intensity of Er according to the time, place, and state of urban development.

Impacts of digital finance on energy efficiency: does environmental regulation matter?

The paper examines how digital finance affects energy efficiency in China using a dynamic panel model and data from 282 cities between 2011 and 2019. The study is based on the hypothesis which is related with digital finance, environmental regulation, and energy efficiency. The results indicate that: (1) Digital finance significantly improves energy efficiency, and this finding is consistent after several tests; (2) Digital finance has a positive effect on energy efficiency in non-resource-based cities, recession and regeneration resource-based cities, and old industrial base cities, but no significant effect on energy efficiency in growth and maturity resource-based cities and non-old industrial base cities; (3) Environmental regulation positively influences how digital finance affects energy efficiency; (4) The impact of digital finance on energy efficiency depends on the degree and tools of environmental regulation. This research offers valuable insights to local governments in China for promoting financial digitization and enhancing energy efficiency.

Fintech, green imports, technology, and FDI inflow: their role in CO2 emissions reduction and the path to COP26: a comparative analysis of China

This study uses a nonlinear autoregressive distributed lag (NARDL) model to investigate the relationships between CO2 emissions, green energy imports, foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow, and financial technology (fintech) in China. It examines both short- and long-term asymmetries, reflecting the positive and negative effects of variables of interest on CO2 emissions. The results indicate that increasing fintech and green energy imports will decrease environmental pollution, as fintech and green technology negatively affect CO2 emissions in a positive shock and have positive effects in a negative shock. We also found that imports negatively affected CO2 emissions in the context of green energy imports. However, FDI inflows have conflicting outcomes, being positively beneficial during positive shocks and adversely significant during negative shocks. Moreover, green energy imports led to a considerable increase in CO2 emissions during negative shocks. These findings highlight the importance of considering economic factors when developing environmental regulations. Policy recommendations for COP26 include fostering sustainable fintech innovation, investing in green technology research, bolstering renewable energy imports, and improving climate legislation to build a greener and more sustainable future for China.

Green technology innovation under differentiated carbon constraints: The substitution effect of industrial relocation

The relationship between the carbon intensity constraint policy (CICP) and green technology innovation (GTI) has been well documented in the literature. However, the allocation method of the carbon abatement target is often ignored. The allocation method plays a decisive role in the policy effect. After alleviating the possible endogenous problems through quasi natural experiment, we find that the CICP with the special allocation method promotes GTI in the western provinces but inhibits GTI in the eastern provinces. Especially, the positive impact in the western provinces presents an intensifying trend. To discuss the potential mechanism, we further construct a three-dimensional panel, which contains 1.84 million observations. Our macro and micro evidences reveal that manufacturing firms in the eastern provinces tend to move westward under carbon constraints rather than GTI. In other words, the industrial relocation has a substitution effect on GTI, which further explains why the CICP inhibits GTI in the eastern provinces. The above findings offer targeted policy reference for regulators and government departments concerned with the issues of carbon emission reduction and GTI.

Navigating China's carbon neutrality journey: insights from policy instruments and implementation strategies across provincial regions

China's critical reliance on well-crafted public policies, coupled with the effective execution of central government directives at the local level, drives the achievement of the "dual carbon" goal including the peaking of CO2 emissions and attaining carbon neutrality. Therefore, examining policy records can unveil the holistic strategy for attaining carbon neutrality during the period of peak CO2 emissions; at the same time, it can also highlight the potential obstacles in policy implementation. In this study, we adopt a policy instruments perspective to investigate data related to policies addressing peak CO2 emissions across 29 provincial administrative regions in China. We apply Nvivo12 software to conduct a quantitative literature assessment and content analysis to establish a theoretical framework for the policy process. This framework encompasses dimensions such as political feasibility, regional coordination, attributes of low-carbon initiatives, and policy refinement. Subsequently, we employ the model to carry out a retrospective analysis of policy documents pertaining to peak CO2 emissions in China. Our research findings underscore the pivotal role of political feasibility in shaping policy effectiveness, while also highlighting the facilitative influence of regional coordination, shedding light on the essential synergy between provinces and cities in achieving emissions reduction goals. Similarly, the estimated results highlight the motivating impact of specific attributes within low-carbon initiatives. Moreover, policy enhancements are identified as a critical driver in advancing the path toward carbon neutrality. Consequently, to achieve the objective of carbon neutrality, it is imperative for every province and city to sequentially reach the peak of CO2 emissions. Our research offers a comprehensive "China strategy," providing valuable insights to guide future policy formulation and accelerate progress toward sustainable environmental objectives.

How does financial decentralization synergies carbon reduction and pollution control in China?

This study looks at how carbon reduction, pollution management, and monetary decentralization in China all work together for a win-win situation. Since China is the most significant contributor to global warming, the country must implement policies to cut carbon emissions and curb pollution. One possible answer is financial decentralization, delegating federal financial responsibilities, and decisions to state and regional governments. The study used the weighted matrix analysis technique, LM matrix analysis technique, and ARDL short-run and long-run analysis estimates. However, the degree to which it will help China reduce carbon emissions and regulate pollution is unclear. This study takes a multifaceted approach to the investigation of this problem. Determining the efficacy of financial decentralization in addressing environmental concerns and drawing policy implications for China's environmental governance framework requires investigating the drivers of this trend and the mechanisms through which it operates. We perform a comprehensive empirical analysis to examine the results of using Chinese data from 1999 to 2019. This study's results provide new information to the literature by showcasing the power of fiscal decentralization in propelling environmentally sound policies in China. Central policy takeaways from the report include decentralizing financial authority to local governments, encouraging cooperation across multiple tiers of government, and setting up effective systems for monitoring and enforcing compliance. These policy suggestions can help China decrease carbon emissions and regulate pollution more efficiently, paving the way to better environmental results and a more sustainable future.

Does the opening of high-speed rails improve urban carbon efficiency? Evidence from a spatial difference-in-difference method

High carbon emission efficiency is an important guarantee for achieving the goals of "carbon peaking" by 2030 and "carbon neutrality" by 2060. Based on the panel data of prefecture-level cities from 2003 to 2018, the spatial difference-in-difference model is used to empirically test the spatial spillover effect of the opening of high-speed rail (HSR) on urban total factor carbon emission efficiency (TFCEE). The results show that the spatial correlation of TFCEE between regions is positive, and the opening of HSR has a significant positive spatial spillover effect on TFCEE. The conclusion is still valid after a series of robustness tests. We further employ a mediating effects model to verify that green technology innovation and labour resource mismatch are two important channels of influence for the opening of HSR to improve TFCEE. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the opening of HSR significantly promotes the higher development level and the provincial capital TFCEE.

Digital finance and regional green innovation: the perspective of environmental regulation

The relationship between digital finance and regional green innovation has been partially confirmed, yet the role of environmental regulation in it remains unexplored. Therefore, this paper examines the impact of digital finance on regional green innovation and tests the moderating role of environmental regulation using Chinese city-level data from 2011 to 2019 as a research sample. The results show that digital finance can significantly promote regional green innovation by alleviating regional financing constraints and increasing regional R&D investment. Besides, digital finance has apparent regional difference effects (the contribution of digital finance to regional green innovation is greater in eastern China than in western China, and the development of digital finance in neighbouring regions has a negative transmission effect on local green innovation). Finally, environmental regulation positively moderates the relationship between digital finance and regional green innovation. This paper explores the relationship between digital finance and regional green innovation from the perspective of environmental regulation, providing empirical evidence to promote regional green innovation.

Spatial spillover effect of the synergistic development of inward and outward foreign direct investment on ecological well-being performance in China

Inward and outward foreign direct investment (FDI) can promote a country's economic growth, but the effect of inward and outward FDI on regional ecological well-being performance (EWP) is uncertain. Using the data of 30 Chinese provinces from 2004 to 2019, this study employs the spatial Dubin model to examine the spatial spillover effects of synergistic development of inward and outward FDI on regional ecological well-being performance and their mediating mechanisms. The result shows that the synergistic development of inward and outward FDI can significantly improve regional EWP and imply a positive spatial spillover effect. The dynamic effect analysis indicates that synergistic development of inward and outward FDI has a lag effect on the improvement of regional EWP. The mechanism test found that the synergistic development of inward and outward FDI can enhance the EWP of the region and the spatially related regions by promoting the rationalization, upgrading and technological innovation of the industrial structure. These findings have some insights into improving global ecological well-being in an open economy.

The driving influence of multidimensional urbanization on green total factor productivity in China: evidence from spatiotemporal analysis

China is experiencing a swift transformation from a rural to an urban society. This societal transition is the result of a country's ambition toward economic development. Rapid urbanization impacts on human wellbeing, environment, and infrastructure. Unlike many cases of urban extension, China's urbanization has led to increase in environmental issues, rather than to contain, and posed serious challenges to achieve sustainable development. To date, nevertheless, there is a little empirical enquiry on the spatiotemporal effects of multidimensional urbanization on green total factor productivity. Taking this into account, this article constructs a spatial panel data model based on 283 Chinese cities during 2006-2019. The results showed that the three types of urbanization (i.e., population, land, and economic) have positive effect on green total factor productivity (GTFP). Population urbanization has indirect positive effect on GTFP. Local land urbanization inhibits while surrounding land urbanization promotes GTFP. Economic urbanization has positive direct effect on GTFP. Considering regional heterogeneity, population and economic urbanization have positive effect on GTFP in eastern region. In central region, land urbanization significantly promotes GTFP, while economic urbanization has significant negative effect on GTFP. In the western region, the three types of urbanization are not conducive to GTFP. Considering sized heterogeneity, population and economic types of urbanization have significant negative effect on GTFP in small- and medium-sized cities. In large cities, the three types of urbanization have significant positive effects on GTFP. Considering temporal heterogeneity, the three types of urbanization significantly promote GTFP before 2014, but economic urbanization deteriorates GTFP after 2014. Our results recommend loosening Hukou system, improving land use efficiency, and developing technology and knowledge-intensive industries.

Spatio-temporal variations, spatial spillover, and driving factors of carbon emission efficiency in RCEP members under the background of carbon neutrality

Improving carbon emission efficiency (CEE) has emerged as a critical way for Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) members to promote carbon reduction in the context of climate change mitigation and carbon neutrality. The super-efficiency slacks-based measure (SBM) model, which considers non-desired outputs, is adopted to comprehensively assess the current state and trend of CEE in 15 RCEP countries from a spatio-temporal dynamic perspective, and the global Malmquist-Luenberger (GML) index is coupled to quantify the spatial and temporal differences and dynamic changes. Following that, taking into account the spatial characteristics of CEE, the extended STIRPAT model and the spatial Durbin model are combined to further investigate the primary influencing factors of CEE. It is found that (1) the CEE of RCEP members is generally poor and unevenly distributed in temporal and spatial dimensions, with significant room for improvement and an overall positive spatial autocorrelation; (2) CEE varies considerably among RCEP members, with developed countries far outstripping developing countries in terms of both the current status and trend of CEE; (3) on a dynamic level, the GML index exhibits W-shaped fluctuations, with technological progress acting as the dominant force; and (4) in terms of spillover effects, affluence and economic agglomeration inhibit CEE enhancement, whereas technology level and investment capacity facilitate it. The findings will be useful in developing carbon-neutral plans for various countries as well as coordinated sustainable development for RCEP regions.

Research on the influence mechanism of green finance on the quality of green innovation of private enterprises: evidence from China

In the context of the "peak carbon dioxide emissions" and "carbon neutrality" strategic goals, how green finance can prompt private enterprises to achieve green upgrading has become an important issue to be solved. This paper empirically examines the effect mechanism of green credit policy on private enterprises' green innovation by using the difference-in-differences model based on the manually collected green patent data and matching financial data of Chinese listed private enterprises from 2009 to 2019. It is found that the implementation of green credit policy has a significant negative impact on the quality of green innovation of heavy-polluting private firms relative to non-heavy-polluting private firms, and this conclusion is still valid after replacing the explanatory variables, expanding the sample range, changing the model setting, and excluding the interference of other policies during the sample period. The results of the mechanism suggest that green credit policy negatively affects the quality of green innovation of heavy-polluting private firms by limiting their access to financing for loans and the capital market. Further study finds that commercial banks can reduce their non-performing loan ratio and increase their revenue growth rate by extending green credit funds to improve their business performance. It provides insights for better implementation of green credit policy and promotion of green economy development.

The Low-Carbon Policy and Urban Green Total Factor Energy Efficiency: Evidence from a Spatial Difference-in-Difference Method

In the post-epidemic background of the low-carbon economy and sustainable development, the low-carbon city pilot program (LCCP) is viewed as a practical method of improving energy efficiency. This study explores the spatial spillover effects of LCCP on green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE) by developing a spatial difference-in-difference (SDID) model. Furthermore, we apply the mediating effects model to verify whether the rational allocation of resources is an influential channel for the spillover effect of LCCP policies. The results indicate that the LCCP policy has not only improved the local GTFEE by approximately 1.8%, but it also has a profound impact on the surrounding regions as well, which is about 76.5% that of the pilot cities. Additionally, the estimated results of the mediating effect model indicate that optimizing labor force and capital allocations are two essential channels through which the LCCP policy may contribute to improving regional cities' GTFEE. Accordingly, the pilot cities should establish specific measures for rational resource allocation and promote the spatial spillover model of sustainable development.

The impact of the establishment of carbon emission trade exchange on carbon emission efficiency

The China government focuses on changes in carbon emission efficiency with establishing carbon emission trade exchange (CETE). It is meaningful to study whether the pilot CETEs can facilitate the betterment of carbon emission efficiency. Using the data of 283 cities in China within 2006-2019, this article gauges the carbon emission efficiency with the SBM-DEA model. This paper analyzes the impact of China's pilot CETEs, which was gradually launched from 2013 to 2014, on carbon emission efficiency through the time-varying difference-in-difference (DID) model. Finally, the mediating effect model is further used to analyze the impact mechanism of the pilot CETEs on carbon emission efficiency from the perspectives of innovation investment and pollution control investment. The results reveal that the carbon emission efficiency of each city from 2006 to 2019 is not very ideal. All cities have some room to facilitate the carbon emission efficiency. The pilot CETEs have increased the carbon emission efficiency and reduced carbon dioxide emission. The policy influences the carbon emission efficiency through innovation investment and pollution control investment, which represent long-run and short-run mechanism respectively.

The north–south gap and spillover effect of Chinese service industry green development

Taking the Qinling-Huaihe River as the boundary, this paper divides the Chinese service industry into north and south regions. The current study calculates the green total factor productivity of the Chinese service industry from 2003 to 2019 by using the DEA-Malmquist productivity index method. The influencing factors of the service industry in the north and south of China are tested by the Moran index and the spatial Durbin model. The results show that the green total factor productivity of the Chinese service industry shows great regional heterogeneity. The average green total factor productivity of northern China is 1.4 percentage points lower than that of southern China. The leading factor for the growth of green total factor productivity in southern China is technological progress, while TFP in northern China mainly depends on technical efficiency improvement. The results of spatial econometric regression show that the intensive level of producer services plays a significant role in promoting the green development of the service industry. The transportation infrastructure can significantly promote the green development level of the service industry. Finally, some suggestions are provided to narrow the gap between the north and south of the Chinese service industry.

The Influencing Effect of Tourism Economy on Green Development Efficiency in the Yangtze River Delta

In the context of ecological priority and green development strategy, accelerating the upgrading of tourism structure and promoting the development of ecotourism is an important guarantee to achieve green and low-carbon economic growth and high-quality development. On the basis of constructing comprehensive evaluation indicators of tourism development (TD) and green development efficiency (GDE), this study analyzed the impulse response relationship between TD and GDE and the impact effect of TD on GDE in the Yangtze River Delta region from 2000-2018. Findings showed that: (1) During the study period, TD generally exhibited a W-shaped fluctuating upward trend and GDE showed a staggered evolution of upward and downward fluctuations, while both regional gaps of TD and GDE continued to decrease. (2) Most cities had made a leap from low to medium, high, and higher levels of tourism development, with tourism development levels decreasing along the Yangtze River basin to the north and south of the delta. The overall green development efficiency was relatively low, showing a spatial pattern of high value in the southern delta and low value in the northwest delta. (3) There was a one-way Granger causality of TD on GDE, and the impact of TD on GDE showed a significant positive cumulative effect. (4) TD exhibited a significant inverted U-shaped impact on GDE. The economic development level and government intervention had a significant positive impact on GDE. The proportion of secondary industry, energy consumption intensity, and foreign direct investment had a significant negative driving effect on GDE. While the impact of environmental regulation on GDE was insignificant positive. This study has great practical significance to alleviate the problems of urban resources and environment, and to realize a green economy and high-quality life.

Environmental regulation, foreign investment, and green innovation: a case study from China

Green innovation (GI) has the dual attributes of green development and being innovation driven, and it has become an inevitable choice for solving the prisoner's dilemma of environmental protection and economic development under the action of the concept of sustainable development in the new era. This paper aims to clarify how environmental regulation (ER) can achieve a win‒win situation of GI and environmental protection by using data from prefecture-level cities in China and creating a dynamic panel model, quantile model, spatial econometric model, and panel threshold model to empirically analyze the dynamic effect and spatial effect of ER on GI as well as the nonlinear characteristics of the relationship between them and to examine the moderating effect of foreign direct investment (FDI). The results show that ER significantly promotes the development of the GI level and that FDI can play a positive moderating role. The impact has regional heterogeneity, time period heterogeneity, and resource endowment heterogeneity. After several robustness tests, the empirical conclusions are still credible. Based on the empirical conclusions, this paper makes policy suggestions on ER, foreign investment introduction, and the coordinated development of regional GI.

Can local environmental constraints improve enterprise's green innovation quality? Evidence from Chinese-listed firms

The target responsibility system of environmental protection is one of the vital channels to achieve a win-win situation for both economic development and environmental protection. Comprehensively investigating how local environmental target constraints drive enterprises to improve their green innovation quality is of enormous theoretical and practical significance for optimizing the implementation effect of environmental target constraints policies and boosting enterprises' green and high-quality development. We empirically examine the mechanism of the impact of the intensity of different types of local environmental target constraints on the quality of corporate green innovation and the nonlinear relationship between them through innovatively constructing indicators of local environmental target constraint intensity and utilizing the knowledge width of green patents of listed companies as a proxy variable for enterprise green innovation quality. First, the strength of indirect environmental target constraints has a significant positive effect on the quality of green innovation, but further nonlinear characteristics reveal a significant inverse U-shaped relationship between them. Second, indirect environmental target constraint intensity has an inverted U-shaped trend in increasing the intensity of environmental regulation and influencing the digitalization of enterprises, which in turn forms an inverted U-shaped relationship with the quality of green innovation. Third, indirect environmental target constraint intensity works better in areas with policies prioritizing city over province, with mayors less than 57 years old, and for enterprises in technology-intensive industries.

The effect of mandatory environmental regulation on green development efficiency: evidence from China

The existing literature finds that mandatory environmental regulation (MER) can significantly reduce environmental pollution. However, much less is known about how the implementation of MER affects green development efficiency (GDE). Based on the Air Pollution Control Action Plan which was enforced in 2013 in China's most developed regions as an exogenous shock, we find that first, MER has a significant negative effect on the improvement of GDE by reducing regional scale efficiency. Second, MER mainly reduces the GDE of cities with stronger regulation intensities and with larger economic volumes. Third, MER also has a negative impact on regional green total factor productivity by changing technical progress. We suggest that when implementing MER, governments should enhance regional and global cooperation, promote green technology, and use comprehensive policy tools to stimulate firms' green innovation.

The dynamic change of energy supply and demand structure within China: a perspective from the national value chain

The complexity of the national value chain (NVC) has significantly impacted the level of energy consumption embodied in domestic trade. This paper aims to measure embodied energy and its spatial transfer between provinces and determine the dynamic change in the energy consumption supply and demand structure within China. This paper applies the multiregional input-output model (MRIO) to establish three accounting frameworks from forward-linkage, backward-linkage, and trade in value-added (TiVA) perspectives to comprehensively track energy consumption transfer along the NVC during the period 2007 to 2017. The results reveal that provinces acting as net energy importers are primarily in developed and coastal regions (Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Guangdong). The net energy exporters are concentrated in Hebei, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, Xinjiang, and other energy-intensive provinces. By and large, China's interprovincial energy transfer pattern gradually evolved from one of "shifting from inland provinces in the northwest and central regions to developed provinces in the east" to one of "shifting from the northwest, northeast, and central provinces to southwest and southeast provinces with the Yangtze River Delta and central provinces as pivots" during the period 2007-2017. By comparing the embodied energy transfer measured in three accounting frameworks, we find that this embodied energy transfer tends to be exaggerated from the forward-linkage and backward-linkage perspectives due to multiple cross-border trading of intermediates and double-counting. These findings indicate that complex domestic businesses, especially intermediates, exert a significant impact on energy transfer, resulting in more complicated energy flows. This article has significance for better understanding the energy transfer pattern and evolution process.

Heterogeneous environmental regulations and green economic efficiency in China: the mediating role of industrial structure

Industrial upgrading is the key to promoting green economic efficiency. Coordination between environmental regulations and industrial structure can lead to sustainable economic growth. However, insufficient attention has been paid to the mechanism by which environmental regulation (ER) promote green economic efficiency (GEE) under the mediating role of industrial structure optimization. Using robust and comprehensive measures of green economic efficiency, we assess how various environmental regulations affect green economic efficiency as well as the intermediate effect of industrial structure of a certain province with provincial panel data during the period 2003-2017. The results of dynamic panel two-step system generalized method of moments (GMM) confirm the heterogeneous effects of the three types of ER, namely control-and-command regulation, market-based regulation, and voluntary regulation on GEE in China. The spatial analysis demonstrates that control-and-command and voluntary regulations significantly accelerate GEE in inland provinces, while they have insignificant effect in coastal provinces. Based on the mediating analysis, we find that market-based regulation is conducive to GEE through both advanced and rationalized industrial structure, whereas control-and-command regulation improves GEE through advanced industrial structure only. The voluntary-based regulation on one hand stimulates GEE through advanced industrial structure, but on other hand impedes it through rationalized industrial structure. The results could provide critical insights and a theoretical basis for policy makers in reasonable optimization of industrial structure and guaranteeing green economic efficiency.

Nonlinear and spatial spillover effects of the digital economy on green total factor energy efficiency: evidence from 281 cities in China

Although the digital economy has become a new driving force for development worldwide, it is still unclear how digital economy development affects green total factor energy efficiency (GTFEE). Using panel data from 281 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2018, this study empirically analyzes the effect of digital economy development on GTFEE by adopting a dynamic panel model, a mediation effect model, a dynamic threshold panel model, and a spatial Durbin model. The empirical results show that digital economy development has a significantly negative direct effect on GTFEE. The digital economy can impact GTFEE by the mechanisms of electrification, hollowing out of industrial scale, and hollowing out of industrial efficiency. Neither innovation nor environmental regulations significantly change this negative impact. The dynamic threshold panel model shows a nonlinear relationship between digital economy development and GTFEE, which indicates that the effect of digital economy development on GTFEE significantly inverts from negative to positive as the digital economy develops. In addition, GTFEE has a significantly positive spatial correlation, and the digital economy has a positive spatial spillover effect on GTFEE.

Boosting the green total factor energy efficiency in urban China: Does low-carbon city policy matter?

Low-carbon city (LCC) pilot is a strategic policy to deal with global climate change and energy poverty. Using the city-level data from 2006 to 2019, this paper applies a multiple difference-in-difference (DID) analysis to explore the impact of LCC policy on urban green total factor energy efficiency(GTFEE) and its potential mechanism. The results show that the LCC pilot policy can significantly improve urban GTFEE, and the finding remains robust with various tests. Secondly, we shed light on the mechanism of the LCC policy and explore the possible channels through green innovation and structural upgrading to improve the urban GTFEE. Third, the policy effect is affected by different levels of urban economic development, urban development scale, and urban development types. In cities with higher levels of economic development, super-large resource-based cities, the pilot policy has a more significant improvement effect on GTFEE. On the other hand, in the less developed regions, pilot policies will hinder the improvement of GTFEE.

Tax Policy and Total Factor Carbon Emission Efficiency: Evidence from China’s VAT Reform

China, the world’s largest carbon emitter, urgently needs to improve its carbon emissions efficiency. This study analyzes the impact of tax policy on total factor carbon emission efficiency (TFCEE). Using the Value Added Tax (VAT) reform in China as an exogenous shock and undesirable-SBM model to measure the total factor carbon emission efficiency of 282 cities in China from 2003 to 2019, our multiple difference-in-difference (DID) estimates show that VAT reform significantly improves the TFCEE in the city level. These potential mechanisms show that VAT reform has promoted upgrading industrial structures, stimulated technological innovation, improved human capital, introduced FDI through four channels, and enhanced the TFCEE. The heterogeneity study found that VAT reform has a higher effect on promoting TFCEE in coastal and large megacities than in inland and small and medium-sized cities. This study provides a theoretical basis for policy instruments to improve energy efficiency and the environment.

Can Green Credit Policy Promote Firms’ Green Innovation? Evidence from China

To achieve the twin goals of “stable growth” and “environmental protection”, it is necessary to promote green innovation in firms and green transformation of the economy. This paper regards China’s Green Credit Guidelines policy in 2012 as a quasi-natural experiment to explore the impact of the policy on the green innovation of heavy-polluting firms. This analysis uses Chinese A-share listed industrial enterprises from 2008–2019 as the research sample and difference-in-difference (DID) as the empirical method. The results show that implementing the green credit policy has significantly contributed to firms’ green technology innovation enhancement. Moreover, the mechanism suggests that the green credit policy can promote firms’ green innovation through channels, such as inhibiting the compression of heavy-polluting firms’ financing space, increasing their debt financing costs, and promoting firm transformation and upgrading. Further study finds that the green credit policy promotes green innovation significantly for state-owned and large firms but not for non-state-owned and small-scale firms. Based on our empirical results, we can conclude that the green credit policy is an efficient way to realize the goal of “environmental excellence” and guide firms to effectively carry out green innovation.

Research on the Impact of Enterprise Green Development Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Approach

The environmental situation is not optimistic. Improving the level of enterprise green development behavior can help enterprises to comply with the trend of environmental protection. However, existing studies do not explain the factors influencing enterprise green development behavior. This research collects and screens 33 empirical studies related to enterprise green development behavior from multiple authoritative data platforms, which cover 10 different countries and regions. A quantitative approach is then used to comprehensively explore the influencing factors, deeply dig into their degree of influence, and explore the moderating effect of the moderators. The results show the following: (1) corporate tangible resources, corporate intangible resources, market environment, policy and institutional environment, and public supervision have positive effects on enterprise green development behavior, and there are differences in the degree of influence; (2) corporate intangible resources have the most significant influence on enterprise green development behavior; (3) the size, region, and industry of enterprise can moderate enterprise green development behavior. This research suggests four participants: society, enterprise, market, and government. The research results are intended to provide a basis for researchers to further study enterprise green development behavior for specific industries and promote enterprise green development.