Dual Environmental Regulation and Carbon Emission Reduction in Pig Breeding Industry: Synergistic Effect or Crowding-Out Effect? Evidence from China

The prohibition zone policy restricts certain activities in specific areas to protect the environment, while the emission permit policy allows companies to trade emissions permits as a market-based approach to regulation. Can the two policies jointly promote the carbon emission reduction of the pig breeding industry (PBI)? Based on the panel data of 31 provinces and cities in China from 2010 to 2020, this paper adopts propensity score matching and multi-period difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) models to study the impact of the dual policy of the prohibition zone and emission permit on the carbon emissions of the PBI. Our theoretical and empirical findings suggest that the dual policy significantly reduces carbon emissions in the PBI. A mediating analysis reveals that industrial structure and government penalties regulate the impact of the dual policy. Further analysis shows that the prohibition zone policy and the emission permit policy play a synergistic role in the impact on the carbon emissions of the PBI. Regional heterogeneity is also explored, indicating that the carbon emission reduction effect is more significant in western China. Policy implementers should fully consider various policies, regional differences, and regulatory factors, formulating complementary policy combinations to jointly promote the green new quality productivity of the PBI.