Low-carbon city pilot policies and urban carbon productivity improvement: An empirical analysis from the perspective of green competitiveness
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Chinese government elaborated that "Promoting the low-carbon economic and social transition is a crucial factor in achieving high-quality development". In 2010, the government officially launched the Low-carbon city pilot policy (LCPP). After the practice has been effective, government has gradually included more cities in the pilot program. In this context, this paper examined the impact of the LCPP on the urban carbon productivity and its heterogeneity, using a difference-in-difference (DID) model with panel data from 260 Chinese cities during the period from 2006 to 2019. The findings show that LCPP has significantly enhanced the urban carbon productivity and LCPP can increase carbon productivity in pilot cities over a long period of time. Furthermore, this paper innovatively introduces the urban green competitiveness for mechanism analysis. The results of mechanism test suggested that the green competitiveness of the cities that had implemented LCPP was enhanced, thereby increasing the urban carbon productivity. Based on the above research results, this paper suggests that the government should further expand the scope of the pilot and strengthen the policy guidance. In particular, governments should pay attention to the regional heterogeneity in urban planning, formulate diverse policies, and focus on providing long-term support for the low-carbon transition of cities.
Authors: Xiangyi Li, Yanzhi Xu, Hengxin Tan, Yufei Lei
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $1,560
Award: G3062866005
OpenAlex ID: W4404314929