School of Public Administration and Policy, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan 250014, China.
School of Economics, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan 250014, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Nov 15;18(22):11974. doi: 10.3390/ijerph182211974.
Low-carbon city construction (LCC) is an important strategy for countries desiring to improve environmental quality, realize cleaner production, and achieve sustainable development. Low-carbon cities have attracted widespread attention for their attempts to coordinate the relationship between environmental protection and economic development. Using the panel data from 2006 to 2017 of prefecture-level cities in China, this study applied the difference-in-differences (DID) method to analyze the effects of LCC on the total factor productivity (TFP) of the cities and its possible transmission mechanism. The results show significantly positive effects on TFP, but the effects on each component of TFP are different. Although the LCC has promoted technical progress and scale efficiency, it has inhibited technical efficiency. The accuracy of the results has been confirmed by several robustness tests. Mechanism analysis showed that the pilot policy of low-carbon cities has promoted technical progress and scale efficiency by technological innovation and the upgrading of industrial structure, but resource mismatches among enterprises have been the main reason for reduced technical efficiency. Regional heterogeneity analysis showed that the effects on TFP in the eastern region have been more significant than in the central and western regions. In the eastern region, they have promoted technical progress, while in the central and western regions, they have promoted technical progress and scale efficiency but hindered technical efficiency. This paper presents our findings for the effects of LCC on economic development and provides insightful policy implications for the improvement of technical efficiency in low-carbon cities.
低碳城市建设（LCC）是各国改善环境质量、实现清洁生产和实现可持续发展的重要战略。低碳城市试图协调环境保护和经济发展之间的关系，因此引起了广泛关注。本研究利用 2006 年至 2017 年中国地级市的面板数据，采用双重差分（DID）方法分析了 LCC 对城市全要素生产率（TFP）的影响及其可能的传递机制。结果表明，LCC 对 TFP 有显著的正向影响，但对 TFP 的各个组成部分的影响是不同的。虽然 LCC 促进了技术进步和规模效率，但抑制了技术效率。通过几项稳健性测试，验证了结果的准确性。机制分析表明，低碳城市的试点政策通过技术创新和产业结构升级促进了技术进步和规模效率，但企业之间的资源错配是技术效率降低的主要原因。区域异质性分析表明，LCC 对 TFP 的影响在东部地区比在中部和西部地区更为显著。在东部地区，它促进了技术进步，而在中部和西部地区，它促进了技术进步和规模效率，但抑制了技术效率。本文提出了 LCC 对经济发展影响的研究结果，为提高低碳城市的技术效率提供了有价值的政策启示。
