School of Literature, Law and Economics, Wuhan University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430070, China.
School of Economics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430074, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Jul 28;19(15):9257. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19159257.
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.
中国是世界上最大的碳排放国，迫切需要提高其碳排放效率。本研究分析了税收政策对全要素碳排放效率（TFCEE）的影响。利用中国增值税（VAT）改革作为外生冲击和非期望 SBM 模型，测算了 2003 年至 2019 年中国 282 个城市的全要素碳排放量，我们的多倍差分法（DID）估计结果表明，增值税改革显著提高了城市层面的 TFCEE。这些潜在的机制表明，增值税改革通过四条渠道促进了产业结构升级、技术创新、人力资本提高、引入了外国直接投资，并提高了 TFCEE。异质性研究发现，增值税改革在促进沿海和特大城市的 TFCEE 方面比内陆和中小城市更有效。本研究为提高能源效率和环境的政策工具提供了理论依据。
