Center for Quantitative Economics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
Business School, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Sep 2;18(17):9286. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18179286.
Current research on technological progress does not focus on whether there is a biased selection of technological progress based on the resulting pollutant emissions and the emission reduction effect. This paper measures green total factor productivity for 30 provinces in China from 2004-2018 and tests whether technological progress is selectively biased towards the pollutants emitted. The results find a selective bias of technological progress on pollutant emissions, and there is also heterogeneity in the selective bias across regions. The current level of technological progress is on the right side of the inverted U-shaped inflection point for SO and PM and the left side of the inverted U-shaped inflection point for CO. The improvement of technological progress can reduce the emissions of SO and PM. Still, the results indicate that the reduction effect of these two pollutants originates from the treatment process rather than reducing the source of the production side. The inability of technological advancement to reduce CO emissions suggests some carbon lock-in in China's technological advancement. The Chinese government should increase the proportion of new energy applications and reduce the production methods of polluting industries to reduce pollutants effectively.
当前的技术进步研究并未关注技术进步是否会基于产生的污染物排放和减排效果而产生有偏向的选择。本文测算了 2004-2018 年中国 30 个省份的绿色全要素生产率，并检验了技术进步是否对污染物排放存在选择性偏向。结果发现技术进步对污染物排放存在选择性偏向，且这种选择性偏向在不同地区存在异质性。目前的技术进步水平处于 SO 和 PM 的倒 U 型拐点的右侧，而 CO 的拐点则在左侧。技术进步的提高可以减少 SO 和 PM 的排放。然而，结果表明这两种污染物的减排效果源于处理过程，而不是减少生产侧的源头。技术进步无法减少 CO 排放表明中国的技术进步存在一定的碳锁定。中国政府应增加新能源应用的比例，减少污染产业的生产方式，以有效减少污染物。
