IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecanpo/v83y2024icp118-129.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Top-down or bottom-up? Government policies, public awareness and carbon reduction

Author

Listed:
  • Luo, Juan
  • Jin, Xiaoman
  • Hu, Yiming

Abstract

Environmental governance approaches are critical for carbon reduction and energy security. Using the data from government work reports and public search, this paper investigates the impact of government policies and public awareness on carbon emissions. The ‘top-down’ administrative regulation is found to have more effective in promoting carbon reduction in cities than ‘bottom-up’ public awareness, and this carbon reduction effect is more pronounced in central, western and lower levels of economic development cities. The findings suggest that regions with higher economic development tend to exhibit greater dependency on carbon, posing challenges in achieving prompt reductions in carbon emissions through governmental policies and public awareness. Additional discoveries indicate that ‘top-down’ administrative regulation exhibits a certain sustainability, mainly through industrial structure adjustments. This aspect proves beneficial for enhancing the city's developmental path and quality in the long term.

Suggested Citation

  • Luo, Juan & Jin, Xiaoman & Hu, Yiming, 2024. "Top-down or bottom-up? Government policies, public awareness and carbon reduction," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 118-129.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:83:y:2024:i:c:p:118-129
    DOI: 10.1016/j.eap.2024.06.013
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0313592624001528
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.eap.2024.06.013?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stefan Ambec & Mark A. Cohen & Stewart Elgie & Paul Lanoie, 2013. "The Porter Hypothesis at 20: Can Environmental Regulation Enhance Innovation and Competitiveness?," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 7(1), pages 2-22, January.
    2. Martínez-Zarzoso, Inmaculada & Maruotti, Antonello, 2011. "The impact of urbanization on CO2 emissions: Evidence from developing countries," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(7), pages 1344-1353, May.
    3. Ying Huang & Yashan Li & Jinge Mao & Ruinan Li & Lin Zhang, 2023. "The dynamics of policy coordination: The case of China’s science and technology policy-making," Science and Public Policy, Oxford University Press, vol. 50(2), pages 177-193.
    4. Peng, Jiachao & Xiao, Jianzhong & Zhang, Lian & Wang, Teng, 2020. "The impact of China's ‘Atmosphere Ten Articles’ policy on total factor productivity of energy exploitation: Empirical evidence using synthetic control methods," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).
    5. Yu, Yongze & Li, Ke & Duan, Shenglan & Song, Chenchen, 2023. "Economic growth and environmental pollution in China: New evidence from government work reports," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    6. Hans Bressers & Pieter‐Jan Klok, 1988. "Fundamentals for a Theory of Policy Instruments," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 15(3/4), pages 22-41, March.
    7. Wu Xiaoman & Abdul Majeed & Dinara G. Vasbieva & Claire Emilienne Wati Yameogo & Nazim Hussain, 2021. "Natural resources abundance, economic globalization, and carbon emissions: Advancing sustainable development agenda," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(5), pages 1037-1048, September.
    8. Dingqi Xue & Yili Ding & Lu Yu & Xinghua Deng, 2023. "The Impact of Green Institutional Pressure from Local Governments on Corporate Innovation: An Empirical Evidence from Foreign-Invested Enterprises in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-18, July.
    9. Jia, Zhijie & Lin, Boqiang, 2021. "How to achieve the first step of the carbon-neutrality 2060 target in China: The coal substitution perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 233(C).
    10. Kang Pan & Feng He, 2022. "Does Public Environmental Attention Improve Green Investment Efficiency?—Based on the Perspective of Environmental Regulation and Environmental Responsibility," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-20, October.
    11. Wan, Siyu & Lee, Yoong Hon & Sarma, Vengadeshvaran J., 2023. "Is Fintech good for green finance? Empirical evidence from listed banks in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1273-1291.
    12. Cheng, Shulei & Wang, Kexin & Meng, Fanxin & Liu, Gengyuan & An, Jiafu, 2024. "The unanticipated role of fiscal environmental expenditure in accelerating household carbon emissions: Evidence from China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    13. Li, Jun & Zhang, Dayong & Su, Bin, 2019. "The Impact of Social Awareness and Lifestyles on Household Carbon Emissions in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 145-155.
    14. Holcombe, Randall G. & Rodet, Cortney S., 2012. "Rule of law and the size of government," Journal of Institutional Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(1), pages 49-69, March.
    15. Jens Newig, 2004. "Public Attention, Political Action: the Example of Environmental Regulation," Rationality and Society, , vol. 16(2), pages 149-190, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nan, Shijing & Huo, Yuchen & You, Wanhai & Guo, Yawei, 2022. "Globalization spatial spillover effects and carbon emissions: What is the role of economic complexity?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    2. Thais NUNEZ-ROCHA & Inmaculada MARTíNEZ-ZARZOSO, 2018. "Is National Environmental Legislation Affecting Emissions?," LEO Working Papers / DR LEO 2505, Orleans Economics Laboratory / Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orleans (LEO), University of Orleans.
    3. Wen, Shiyan & Jia, Zhijie, 2022. "The energy, environment and economy impact of coal resource tax, renewable investment, and total factor productivity growth," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    4. Feng, Haiyan & Li, Yan, 2024. "The role of fintech, natural resources, environmental taxes and urbanization on environmental sustainability: Evidence from the novel panel data approaches," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    5. Zhang, Pan & Wang, Huan, 2022. "Do provincial energy policies and energy intensity targets help reduce CO2 emissions? Evidence from China," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    6. Saud, Shah & Haseeb, Abdul & Zafar, Muhammad Wasif & Li, Huiyun, 2023. "Articulating natural resource abundance, economic complexity, education and environmental sustainability in MENA countries: Evidence from advanced panel estimation," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C).
    7. Acheampong, Alex O. & Said, Rabie, 2024. "Financial inclusion and the global net-zero emissions agenda: Does governance quality matter?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    8. Du, Zhili & Xu, Jie & Lin, Boqiang, 2024. "What does the digital economy bring to household carbon emissions? – From the perspective of energy intensity," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 370(C).
    9. Yucai Hu & Jiancheng Liu & Ruotong Hao & Jiaxin Shen & Shanshan Fan, 2025. "The Impact of Carbon Emissions Trading and Market Participants on Green Innovation: A Synergistic Effect," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-24, February.
    10. Valeria Costantini & Francesco Crespi & Giovanni Marin & Elena Paglialunga, 2016. "Eco-innovation, sustainable supply chains and environmental performance in European industries," LEM Papers Series 2016/19, Laboratory of Economics and Management (LEM), Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies, Pisa, Italy.
    11. Xiaoqing Lin & Chunyan Lu & Kaishan Song & Ying Su & Yifan Lei & Lianxiu Zhong & Yibin Gao, 2020. "Analysis of Coupling Coordination Variance between Urbanization Quality and Eco-Environment Pressure: A Case Study of the West Taiwan Strait Urban Agglomeration, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-19, March.
    12. Chen, Huadun & Du, Qianxi & Huo, Tengfei & Liu, Peiran & Cai, Weiguang & Liu, Bingsheng, 2023. "Spatiotemporal patterns and driving mechanism of carbon emissions in China's urban residential building sector," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PE).
    13. Zhang, Yingjie & Zhang, Tianzheng & Zeng, Yingxiang & Cheng, Baodong & Li, Hongxun, 2021. "Designating National Forest Cities in China: Does the policy improve the urban living environment?," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    14. Hille, Erik & Althammer, Wilhelm & Diederich, Henning, 2020. "Environmental regulation and innovation in renewable energy technologies: Does the policy instrument matter?," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 153(C).
    15. Emrah Kocak & Hayriye Hilal Baglitas, 2022. "The path to sustainable municipal solid waste management: Do human development, energy efficiency, and income inequality matter?," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 30(6), pages 1947-1962, December.
    16. Alessandro Moro, 2021. "Can capital controls promote green investments in developing countries?," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 1348, Bank of Italy, Economic Research and International Relations Area.
    17. Vitaliy Roud & Thomas Wolfgang Thurner, 2018. "The Influence of State‐Ownership on Eco‐Innovations in Russian Manufacturing Firms," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 22(5), pages 1213-1227, October.
    18. Fang, Mingyue & Nie, Huihua & Shen, Xinyi, 2023. "Can enterprise digitization improve ESG performance?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    19. Javed, Hasnain & Du, Jianguo & Iqbal, Shuja & Nassani, Abdelmohsen A. & Basheer, Muhammad Farhan, 2024. "The impact of mineral resource abundance on environmental degradation in ten mineral- rich countries: Do the green innovation and financial technology matter?," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C).
    20. Requillart, Vincent & Nauges, Celine & Simioni, Michel & Bontemps, Christophe, 2012. "Food Safety Regulation and Firm Productivity: Evidence from the French Food Industry," 2012 First Congress, June 4-5, 2012, Trento, Italy 124378, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecanpo:v:83:y:2024:i:c:p:118-129. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/economic-analysis-and-policy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.