IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v15y2023i3p2657-d1054576.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Have China’s Regional Carbon Emissions Trading Schemes Promoted Industrial Resource Allocation Efficiency? The Evidence from Heavily Polluted Industries at the Provincial Level

Author

Listed:
  • Chunhua Lu

    (School of Economics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

  • Hong Li

    (School of Economics, Peking University, Beijing 100871, China)

Abstract

Based on the data of A-share listed companies in China, this paper examines how China’s regional carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) affects the resource allocation efficiency of China’s provincial heavily polluted industries through the DID method. The empirical results show that China’s regional carbon ETSs have reduced the TFP dispersion of enterprises in the industry, thus improving the industries’ resource allocation efficiency. The heterogeneity analysis shows that China’s regional carbon ETSs have more significantly promoted the resource allocation efficiency in industries with high competition and high external financing dependence, while the policy effects in industries with low competition and low external financing dependence are less significant. Further mechanism analysis shows that, on the one hand, China’s regional carbon ETSs have promoted the flow of capital resources from low-TFP enterprises to high-TFP enterprises. On the other hand, China’s regional carbon ETSs have promoted low-TFP enterprises to improve TFP to a higher degree than high-TFP enterprises, which reduces the TFP dispersion among different enterprises in the industry. In addition, China’s regional carbon ETSs have promoted the market share of high-TFP enterprises and restricted low-TFP enterprises entering the market, which raises the TFP threshold for new enterprises entering the market.

Suggested Citation

  • Chunhua Lu & Hong Li, 2023. "Have China’s Regional Carbon Emissions Trading Schemes Promoted Industrial Resource Allocation Efficiency? The Evidence from Heavily Polluted Industries at the Provincial Level," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-20, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:2657-:d:1054576
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/3/2657/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/3/2657/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Petrick, Sebastian & Wagner, Ulrich J., 2014. "The impact of carbon trading on industry: Evidence from German manufacturing firms," Kiel Working Papers 1912, Kiel Institute for the World Economy (IfW Kiel).
    2. Brian C. Murray & Peter T. Maniloff & Evan M. Murray, 2015. "Why Have Greenhouse Emissions in RGGI States Declined? An Econometric Attribution to Economic, Energy Market and Policy Factors (Payne Institute Policy Brief)," Payne Institute Policy Briefs 2014-04, Colorado School of Mines, Division of Economics and Business.
    3. Lu, Ding, 2001. "Industrial policy and resource allocation: implications on China's participation in globalization," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 11(4), pages 342-360.
    4. Sihai Li & Xianzhong Song & Huiying Wu, 2015. "Political Connection, Ownership Structure, and Corporate Philanthropy in China: A Strategic-Political Perspective," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 129(2), pages 399-411, June.
    5. Raphael Calel & Antoine Dechezleprêtre, 2016. "Environmental Policy and Directed Technological Change: Evidence from the European Carbon Market," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 98(1), pages 173-191, March.
    6. Mayneris, Florian & Poncet, Sandra & Zhang, Tao, 2018. "Improving or disappearing: Firm-level adjustments to minimum wages in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 20-42.
    7. Ross Levine, 1997. "Financial Development and Economic Growth: Views and Agenda," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(2), pages 688-726, June.
    8. Scott L. Baier & Gerald P. Dwyer & Robert Tamura, 2006. "How Important are Capital and Total Factor Productivity for Economic Growth?," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 44(1), pages 23-49, January.
    9. Zhou, Fengxiu & Wang, Xiaoyu, 2022. "The carbon emissions trading scheme and green technology innovation in China: A new structural economics perspective," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 365-381.
    10. Murray, Brian C. & Maniloff, Peter T., 2015. "Why have greenhouse emissions in RGGI states declined? An econometric attribution to economic, energy market, and policy factors," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 581-589.
    11. Zhang, Weijie & Zhang, Ning & Yu, Yanni, 2019. "Carbon mitigation effects and potential cost savings from carbon emissions trading in China's regional industry," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 1-11.
    12. Barry T. Hirsch & Bruce E. Kaufman & Tetyana Zelenska, 2015. "Minimum Wage Channels of Adjustment," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 54(2), pages 199-239, April.
    13. Luong, Hoang & Moshirian, Fariborz & Nguyen, Lily & Tian, Xuan & Zhang, Bohui, 2017. "How Do Foreign Institutional Investors Enhance Firm Innovation?," Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Cambridge University Press, vol. 52(4), pages 1449-1490, August.
    14. Ren, Xiaohang & liu, Ziqing & Jin, Chenglu & Lin, Ruya, 2023. "Oil price uncertainty and enterprise total factor productivity: Evidence from China," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 201-218.
    15. Natarajan Balasubramanian & Jagadeesh Sivadasan, 2009. "Capital Resalability, Productivity Dispersion, and Market Structure," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 91(3), pages 547-557, August.
    16. Ren, Xiaohang & Qin, Jianing & Jin, Chenglu & Yan, Cheng, 2022. "Global oil price uncertainty and excessive corporate debt in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 115(C).
    17. Nancy Qian, 2008. "Missing Women and the Price of Tea in China: The Effect of Sex-Specific Earnings on Sex Imbalance," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 123(3), pages 1251-1285.
    18. Chang-Tai Hsieh & Peter J. Klenow, 2009. "Misallocation and Manufacturing TFP in China and India," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 124(4), pages 1403-1448.
    19. Wang, Xiong & Li, Jingyao & Ren, Xiaohang & Bu, Ruijun & Jawadi, Fredj, 2023. "Economic policy uncertainty and dynamic correlations in energy markets: Assessment and solutions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    20. Goodman-Bacon, Andrew, 2021. "Difference-in-differences with variation in treatment timing," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 254-277.
    21. Zhang, Yue-Jun & Wei, Yi-Ming, 2010. "An overview of current research on EU ETS: Evidence from its operating mechanism and economic effect," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(6), pages 1804-1814, June.
    22. Mark Doms & Eric J. Bartelsman, 2000. "Understanding Productivity: Lessons from Longitudinal Microdata," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 38(3), pages 569-594, September.
    23. Diego Restuccia & Richard Rogerson, 2008. "Policy Distortions and Aggregate Productivity with Heterogeneous Plants," Review of Economic Dynamics, Elsevier for the Society for Economic Dynamics, vol. 11(4), pages 707-720, October.
    24. Jungsuk Kim & Jungsoo Park, 2018. "The Role of Total Factor Productivity Growth in Middle-Income Countries," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 54(6), pages 1264-1284, May.
    25. Prabal De & Priya Nagaraj, 2014. "Productivity and firm size in India," Small Business Economics, Springer, vol. 42(4), pages 891-907, April.
    26. Chen, Shiyi, 2015. "Environmental pollution emissions, regional productivity growth and ecological economic development in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 35(C), pages 171-182.
    27. Ruth, Matthias & Gabriel, Steven A. & Palmer, Karen L. & Burtraw, Dallas & Paul, Anthony & Chen, Yihsu & Hobbs, Benjamin F. & Irani, Daraius & Michael, Jeffrey & Ross, Kim M. & Conklin, Russell & Mill, 2008. "Economic and energy impacts from participation in the regional greenhouse gas initiative: A case study of the State of Maryland," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 36(6), pages 2279-2289, June.
    28. Olley, G Steven & Pakes, Ariel, 1996. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(6), pages 1263-1297, November.
    29. Li, Changsheng & Qi, Yaping & Liu, Shaohui & Wang, Xu, 2022. "Do carbon ETS pilots improve cities' green total factor productivity? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C).
    30. Sun, Xianming & Xiao, Shiyi & Ren, Xiaohang & Xu, Bing, 2023. "Time-varying impact of information and communication technology on carbon emissions," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    31. 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.
    32. Yang, Mian & Hong, Yili & Yang, Fuxia, 2022. "The effects of Mandatory Energy Efficiency Policy on resource allocation efficiency: Evidence from Chinese industrial sector," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 513-524.
    33. Tombe, Trevor & Winter, Jennifer, 2015. "Environmental policy and misallocation: The productivity effect of intensity standards," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 137-163.
    34. Baker, Andrew C. & Larcker, David F. & Wang, Charles C.Y., 2022. "How much should we trust staggered difference-in-differences estimates?," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(2), pages 370-395.
    35. Hu, Yucai & Ren, Shenggang & Wang, Yangjie & Chen, Xiaohong, 2020. "Can carbon emission trading scheme achieve energy conservation and emission reduction? Evidence from the industrial sector in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    36. Ranasinghe, Ashantha, 2014. "Impact of policy distortions on firm-level innovation, productivity dynamics and TFP," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 114-129.
    37. James Levinsohn & Amil Petrin, 2003. "Estimating Production Functions Using Inputs to Control for Unobservables," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 70(2), pages 317-341.
    38. Ren, Xiaohang & Li, Jingyao & He, Feng & Lucey, Brian, 2023. "Impact of climate policy uncertainty on traditional energy and green markets: Evidence from time-varying granger tests," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    39. Ren, Xiaohang & Zhang, Xiao & Yan, Cheng & Gozgor, Giray, 2022. "Climate policy uncertainty and firm-level total factor productivity: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    40. Yanrui Wu, 2011. "Total factor productivity growth in China: a review," Journal of Chinese Economic and Business Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 9(2), pages 111-126.
    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. Maogang Tang & Silu Cheng & Wenqing Guo & Weibiao Ma & Fengxia Hu, 2023. "Relationship between carbon emission trading schemes and companies’ total factor productivity: evidence from listed companies in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(10), pages 11735-11767, October.
    2. De loecker, Jan & Asker, John & Collard-Wexler, Allan, 2011. "Productivity volatility and the misallocation of resources in developing economies," CEPR Discussion Papers 8469, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    3. Themann, Michael & Koch, Nicolas, 2021. "Catching up and falling behind: Cross-country evidence on the impact of the EU ETS on firm productivity," Ruhr Economic Papers 904, RWI - Leibniz-Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung, Ruhr-University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, University of Duisburg-Essen.
    4. Cao, Yuqiang & Lin, Shaoyan & Li, Mangmang & Shan, Yaowen & Wang, Peipei, 2024. "Green taxes: Productivity effects of tax-based environmental regulations on heavily polluting firms," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 140(C).
    5. Wang, Qian & Zhu, Linke, 2021. "Environmental regulation, firm heterogeneity, and intra-industry reallocation," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    6. Alistair Dieppe, 2021. "Global Productivity," World Bank Publications - Books, The World Bank Group, number 34015.
    7. Ren, Xiaohang & An, Yaning & Jin, Chenglu & Yan, Cheng, 2024. "Weathering the policy storm: How climate strategy volatility shapes corporate total factor productivity," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 134(C).
    8. Matthias Kehrig, 2011. "The Cyclicality of Productivity Dispersion," 2011 Meeting Papers 484, Society for Economic Dynamics.
    9. Dang, Tam Hoang-Nhat & Balli, Faruk & Balli, Hatice Ozer & Nguyen, Hannah, 2024. "Firm productivity in the Energy-electricity sector over the last two decades with crisis: The role of cross-listing," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C).
    10. Patino Pena,Fausto Andres & Ferro,Esteban, 2024. "The Role of Firm Dynamics in Aggregate Productivity, Job Flows, and Wage Inequality in Ecuador," Policy Research Working Paper Series 10739, The World Bank.
    11. Liu, Xinheng & Pan, Sishi & Li, Shuxian & Yang, Xin & Huang, Chuangxia, 2024. "Unraveling the causal impact: Oil price uncertainty on firms’ productivity in China," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    12. Bai, Caiquan & Liu, Hangjuan & Zhang, Rongjie & Feng, Chen, 2023. "Blessing or curse? Market-driven environmental regulation and enterprises' total factor productivity: Evidence from China's carbon market pilots," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    13. Ding, Sai & Jiang, Wei & Li, Shengyu & Wei, Shang-Jin, 2024. "Fiscal policy volatility and capital misallocation: Evidence from China," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    14. Zongrun Wang & Lili Yang & Xiaohang Ren & Duong Phuong Thao Pham, 2023. "Facilitate or Inhibit: Corporate Environmental Performance and Financing Costs," Evaluation Review, , vol. 47(4), pages 727-759, August.
    15. Hang, Jing & Zhan, Chaoqun, 2023. "Government procurement and resource misallocation: Evidence from China," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 568-589.
    16. Aragón, Fernando M. & Restuccia, Diego & Rud, Juan Pablo, 2022. "Are small farms really more productive than large farms?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    17. Arindrajit Dube & Attila S. Lindner, 2024. "Minimum Wages in the 21st Century," NBER Working Papers 32878, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    18. Ezra Oberfield & Devesh Raval, 2021. "Micro Data and Macro Technology," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 89(2), pages 703-732, March.
    19. Brugués, Felipe & Brugués, Javier & Giambra, Samuele, 2024. "Political connections and misallocation of procurement contracts: Evidence from Ecuador," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 170(C).
    20. Dibyendu Maiti, 2019. "Trade, Labor Share, and Productivity in India’s Industries," ADB Institute Series on Development Economics, in: Gary Fields & Saumik Paul (ed.), Labor Income Share in Asia, chapter 0, pages 179-205, Springer.

    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:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:3:p:2657-:d:1054576. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.