IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/streco/v69y2024icp512-526.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Will global value chain participation reduce environmental emissions? Evidence from Chinese firm-level data

Author

Listed:
  • Gao, Yuning
  • Yu, Anqi
  • Jiang, Jiatong
  • Pei, Jiansuo

Abstract

The global value chain (GVC) had brought different pattern to the environment impact of trade. Thus, exploring the effect of participation in GVCs on firms’ environmental performance is of great significance. Using micro data on Chinese industrial firms between 2000 and 2013, we investigate the degree of vertical specialization in their sulfur dioxide (SO2) emission intensity. The results showed that the higher degree of vertical integration in GVCs is conducive to decreasing SO2 emission intensity through the channels of imported intermediate inputs and enhancement coal-use efficiency. Besides, we construct two different instrument variables to mitigate the endogeneity problem, along with a series of robustness and heterogeneity tests. This study contributes to the literature on the effect of GVC trade on the environment by providing firm-level evidence from China.

Suggested Citation

  • Gao, Yuning & Yu, Anqi & Jiang, Jiatong & Pei, Jiansuo, 2024. "Will global value chain participation reduce environmental emissions? Evidence from Chinese firm-level data," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 512-526.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:streco:v:69:y:2024:i:c:p:512-526
    DOI: 10.1016/j.strueco.2024.01.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0954349X24000067
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.strueco.2024.01.006?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. Michael Greenstone & Rema Hanna, 2014. "Environmental Regulations, Air and Water Pollution, and Infant Mortality in India," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(10), pages 3038-3072, October.
    2. Pol Antràs & Davin Chor, 2013. "Organizing the Global Value Chain," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 81(6), pages 2127-2204, November.
    3. Robert Koopman & Zhi Wang & Shang-Jin Wei, 2014. "Tracing Value-Added and Double Counting in Gross Exports," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 104(2), pages 459-494, February.
    4. Pol Antras & Davin Chor & Thibault Fally & Russell Hillberry, 2012. "Measuring the Upstreamness of Production and Trade Flows," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(3), pages 412-416, May.
    5. Matthew A. Cole & Robert J. R. Elliott & Per G. Fredriksson, 2006. "Endogenous Pollution Havens: Does FDI Influence Environmental Regulations?," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 108(1), pages 157-178, March.
    6. Judith M. Dean & Mary E. Lovely, 2010. "Trade Growth, Production Fragmentation, and China's Environment," NBER Chapters, in: China's Growing Role in World Trade, pages 429-469, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Gene M. Grossman & Alan B. Krueger, 1995. "Economic Growth and the Environment," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 110(2), pages 353-377.
    8. Mary Amiti & Jozef Konings, 2007. "Trade Liberalization, Intermediate Inputs, and Productivity: Evidence from Indonesia," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 97(5), pages 1611-1638, December.
    9. Li, Lei & Löschel, Andreas & Pei, Jiansuo & Sturm, Bodo & Yu, Anqi, 2020. "Trade liberalization and SO2 emissions: Firm-level evidence from China's WTO entry," CAWM Discussion Papers 119, University of Münster, Münster Center for Economic Policy (MEP).
    10. Brian R. Copeland & M. Scott Taylor, 2004. "Trade, Growth, and the Environment," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 42(1), pages 7-71, March.
    11. Hiau Looi Kee & Heiwai Tang, 2016. "Domestic Value Added in Exports: Theory and Firm Evidence from China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 106(6), pages 1402-1436, June.
    12. Bogmans, Christian, 2015. "Can the terms of trade externality outweigh free-riding? The role of vertical linkages," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 95(1), pages 115-128.
    13. Joseph S. Shapiro & Reed Walker, 2018. "Why Is Pollution from US Manufacturing Declining? The Roles of Environmental Regulation, Productivity, and Trade," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 108(12), pages 3814-3854, December.
    14. J. Scott Holladay, 2016. "Exporters and the environment," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 49(1), pages 147-172, February.
    15. Ram C. Acharya & Wolfgang Keller, 2009. "Technology transfer through imports," Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d'économique, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(4), pages 1411-1448, November.
    16. Cherniwchan, Jevan, 2017. "Trade liberalization and the environment: Evidence from NAFTA and U.S. manufacturing," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 130-149.
    17. Ahn, JaeBin & Khandelwal, Amit K. & Wei, Shang-Jin, 2011. "The role of intermediaries in facilitating trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(1), pages 73-85, May.
    18. Lanjouw, Jean Olson & Mody, Ashoka, 1996. "Innovation and the international diffusion of environmentally responsive technology," Research Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(4), pages 549-571, June.
    19. Sun, Chuanwang & Zhan, Yanhong & Gao, Xiang, 2023. "Does environmental regulation increase domestic value-added in exports? An empirical study of cleaner production standards in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    20. Eisenbarth, Sabrina, 2017. "Is Chinese trade policy motivated by environmental concerns?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 74-103.
    21. Liu, Xuepeng, 2013. "Tax avoidance through re-imports: The case of redundant trade," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 152-164.
    22. Brandt, Loren & Van Biesebroeck, Johannes & Zhang, Yifan, 2012. "Creative accounting or creative destruction? Firm-level productivity growth in Chinese manufacturing," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(2), pages 339-351.
    23. James Johnson, 2014. "Models Among the Political Theorists," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 58(3), pages 547-560, July.
    24. Grossman, Gene M. & Helpman, Elhanan, 1991. "Trade, knowledge spillovers, and growth," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(2-3), pages 517-526, April.
    25. Forslid, Rikard & Okubo, Toshihiro & Ulltveit-Moe, Karen Helene, 2018. "Why are firms that export cleaner? International trade, abatement and environmental emissions," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 166-183.
    26. Halvorsen, Robert & Palmquist, Raymond, 1980. "The Interpretation of Dummy Variables in Semilogarithmic Equations," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 70(3), pages 474-475, June.
    27. Chen, Gao & Xu, Jian & Qi, Yu, 2022. "Environmental (de)centralization and local environmental governance: Evidence from a natural experiment in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 72(C).
    28. Miaojie Yu, 2015. "Processing Trade, Tariff Reductions and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Chinese Firms," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 125(585), pages 943-988, June.
    29. Yue Hua & Yue Lu & Ruili Zhao, 2022. "Global value chain engagement and air pollution: Evidence from Chinese firms," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3), pages 708-727, July.
    30. Deasy D. Pane & Arianto A. Patunru, 2023. "The role of imported inputs in firms’ productivity and exports: evidence from Indonesia," Review of World Economics (Weltwirtschaftliches Archiv), Springer;Institut für Weltwirtschaft (Kiel Institute for the World Economy), vol. 159(3), pages 629-672, August.
    31. Liu, Mengdi & Shadbegian, Ronald & Zhang, Bing, 2017. "Does environmental regulation affect labor demand in China? Evidence from the textile printing and dyeing industry," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 277-294.
    32. Robert C. Feenstra & Zhiyuan Li & Miaojie Yu, 2014. "Exports and Credit Constraints under Incomplete Information: Theory and Evidence from China," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 96(4), pages 729-744, October.
    33. Kennedy, Peter E, 1981. "Estimation with Correctly Interpreted Dummy Variables in Semilogarithmic Equations [The Interpretation of Dummy Variables in Semilogarithmic Equations]," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 71(4), pages 801-801, September.
    34. Nathan Nunn & Leonard Wantchekon, 2011. "The Slave Trade and the Origins of Mistrust in Africa," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(7), pages 3221-3252, December.
    35. Robert C. Johnson & Guillermo Noguera, 2017. "A Portrait of Trade in Value-Added over Four Decades," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 99(5), pages 896-911, December.
    36. Dietzenbacher, Erik & Pei, Jiansuo & Yang, Cuihong, 2012. "Trade, production fragmentation, and China's carbon dioxide emissions," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 64(1), pages 88-101.
    37. Sun, Chuanwang & Li, Zhi & Ma, Tiemeng & He, Runyong, 2019. "Carbon efficiency and international specialization position: Evidence from global value chain position index of manufacture," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 235-242.
    38. Wang, Hua & Wheeler, David, 2003. "Equilibrium pollution and economic development in China," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 8(3), pages 451-466, July.
    39. Bombardini, Matilde & Li, Bingjing, 2020. "Trade, pollution and mortality in China," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    40. Wang, Jing & Wan, Guanghua & Wang, Chen, 2019. "Participation in GVCs and CO2 emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    41. Pargal, Sheoli & Wheeler, David, 1996. "Informal Regulation of Industrial Pollution in Developing Countries: Evidence from Indonesia," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(6), pages 1314-1327, December.
    42. Wang, Chunhua & Wu, JunJie & Zhang, Bing, 2018. "Environmental regulation, emissions and productivity: Evidence from Chinese COD-emitting manufacturers," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 92(C), pages 54-73.
    43. Hummels, David & Ishii, Jun & Yi, Kei-Mu, 2001. "The nature and growth of vertical specialization in world trade," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 75-96, June.
    44. Petra Christmann & Glen Taylor, 2001. "Globalization and the Environment: Determinants of Firm Self-Regulation in China," Journal of International Business Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Academy of International Business, vol. 32(3), pages 439-458, September.
    45. Koopman, Robert & Wang, Zhi & Wei, Shang-Jin, 2012. "Estimating domestic content in exports when processing trade is pervasive," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 178-189.
    46. Kellenberg, Derek K., 2009. "An empirical investigation of the pollution haven effect with strategic environment and trade policy," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(2), pages 242-255, July.
    47. Johnson, Robert C. & Noguera, Guillermo, 2012. "Accounting for intermediates: Production sharing and trade in value added," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(2), pages 224-236.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Huang, Xiaobing & Xie, Jiawei, 2024. "The impact of input efficiency on the value chain embeddedness of rare earth enterprises," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 604-616.

    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. Sun, Chuanwang & Zhan, Yanhong & Gao, Xiang, 2023. "Does environmental regulation increase domestic value-added in exports? An empirical study of cleaner production standards in China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 163(C).
    2. Kwon, Ohyun & Zhao, Hao & Zhao, Min Qiang, 2023. "Global firms and emissions: Investigating the dual channels of emissions abatement," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    3. Yue Hua & Yue Lu & Ruili Zhao, 2022. "Global value chain engagement and air pollution: Evidence from Chinese firms," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3), pages 708-727, July.
    4. Yuping Deng & Yanrui Wu & Helian Xu, 2022. "Emission Reduction and Value-added Export Nexus at Firm Level," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 22-19, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    5. Yuan, Kaihua & Cui, Jingyuan & Zhang, Haipeng & Gao, Xiang, 2023. "Do cleaner production standards upgrade the global value chain position of manufacturing enterprises? Empirical evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 128(C).
    6. Jiansuo Pei & Bodo Sturm & Anqi Yu, 2021. "Are exporters more environmentally friendly? A re‐appraisal that uses China’s micro‐data," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 44(5), pages 1402-1427, May.
    7. Barrows, Geoffrey & Ollivier, Hélène, 2021. "Foreign demand, developing country exports, and CO2 emissions: Firm-level evidence from India," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 149(C).
    8. Xinheng Liu & Ziyuan Pan & Dongli Fang, 2023. "Agglomeration, resource reallocation and domestic value‐added ratio in exports," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(1), pages 182-213, March.
    9. Chor, Davin & Manova, Kalina & Yu, Zhihong, 2021. "Growing like China: Firm performance and global production line position," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    10. Dai, Mi & Maitra, Madhura & Yu, Miaojie, 2016. "Unexceptional exporter performance in China? The role of processing trade," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 177-189.
    11. Xi Lin & Ling-Yun He, 2023. "The More the Merrier? Evidence from Firm-Level Exports and Environmental Performance in China," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 84(1), pages 125-172, January.
    12. Nenci, Silvia & Fusacchia, Ilaria & Giunta, Anna & Montalbano, Pierluigi & Pietrobelli, Carlo, 2022. "Mapping global value chain participation and positioning in agriculture and food: stylised facts, empirical evidence and critical issues," Bio-based and Applied Economics Journal, Italian Association of Agricultural and Applied Economics (AIEAA), vol. 11(2), July.
    13. Jiang, Jiatong & Pei, Jiansuo & Zhang, Meng, 2024. "Green credit and firms’ span of global production stages," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    14. Pol Antràs & Davin Chor, 2021. "Global Value Chains," NBER Working Papers 28549, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Yajun Zhu & Churen Sun, 2022. "Carbon Reduction, Pollution Intensity, and Firms’ Ratios of Value Added in Exports: Evidence from China’s Low-Carbon Pilot Policy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-26, October.
    16. Jingbo Cui & On Kit Tam & Bei Wang & Yan Zhang, 2020. "The environmental effect of trade liberalization: Evidence from China's manufacturing firms," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 43(12), pages 3357-3383, December.
    17. Zhang, Chonghui & Yuan, Lingjing & Yu, Xiao & Chen, Xiaohua, 2024. "The linkage misalignment of productive services and firms' domestic value-added ratio——Evidence from Chinese micro-firm data," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    18. Tang, Heiwai & Wang, Fei & Wang, Zhi, 2020. "Domestic segment of global value chains in China under state capitalism✰," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(4), pages 797-821.
    19. Wang, Jing & Wan, Guanghua & Wang, Chen, 2019. "Participation in GVCs and CO2 emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    20. Heiwai Tang & Fei Wang & Zhi Wang, 2014. "The Domestic Segment of Global Supply Chains in China under State Capitalism," CESifo Working Paper Series 4797, CESifo.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Global value chains; Sulfur dioxide emissions intensity; China; Firm-level analysis;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F18 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Environment
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    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:streco:v:69:y:2024:i:c:p:512-526. 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.elsevier.com/locate/inca/525148 .

    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.