The carbon emission reduction effect of green fiscal policy: a quasi-natural experiment.

Carbon emission reduction is crucial for mitigating global climate change, and green fiscal policies, through providing economic incentives and reallocating resources, are key means to achieve carbon reduction targets. This paper uses data covering 248 cities from 2003 to 2019 and applies a multi-period difference-in-differences model (DID) to thoroughly assess the impact of energy conservation and emission reduction (ECER) fiscal policies on enhancing carbon emission (CE1) reduction and carbon efficiency (CE2). It further analyzes the mediating role of Green Innovation (GI), exploring how it strengthens the impact of ECER policies. We find that: (1) ECER policies significantly promote the improvement of carbon reduction and CE2, a conclusion that remains robust after excluding the impacts of concurrent policy influences, sample selection biases, outliers, and other random factors. (2) ECER policies enhance CE1 reduction and CE2 in pilot cities by promoting green innovation, and this conclusion is confirmed by Sobel Z tests. (3) The effects of ECER policies on CE1 reduction and the improvement of CE2 are more pronounced in higher-level cities, the eastern regions and non-resource cities. This research provides policy makers with suggestions, highlighting that incentivizing green innovation through green fiscal policies is an effective path to achieving carbon reduction goals.

Assessment of a Community-Based Nutrition Program for Women and Children in Nepal Using Demographic and Health Survey.

Undernutrition is a particularly acute problem in middle- and low-income countries. The "Suaahara" program is a 5-year community-focused program in Nepal, aimed at improving the health and nutrition of pregnant and lactating women and their children under the age of 2 years. This research contributes to evidence on the impact of the "Suaahara" program in 41 treated districts compared to 34 control districts. Using the difference-in-differences method, we found that the weight-for-height z-score and body mass index z-score of children under the age of 2 in the treated districts significantly increased by 0.223 standard deviations (SDs) and 0.236 SDs, respectively, compared with the control districts 5 years before and after the program. The number of antenatal care visits (at least four visits) and safe deliveries significantly increased for pregnant women by 10.4% and 9.1%, respectively, in the treated districts compared with the control districts. The prevalence of fever in children under 2 years of age was significantly reduced by 6.2% in the treated districts. The results show the significance of a policy evaluation with transparent indicators on public health, which is necessary for policymakers so that they can propose evidence-based policy.

Assessment of the Effect of the Main Grain-Producing Areas Policy on China's Food Security.

Food provided a material foundation for the development of human society and was an important cornerstone for ensuring national security. The Chinese government has always attached great importance to food security, which is not only related to economic development and social stability but also to national security and self-reliance. As the core region for grain production and the supply of staple food in China, the major grain-producing areas account for 78.25% of the total national grain output, truly earning the title of China's "granary". Considering the establishment of 13 major grain-producing regions across the country in 2004 as a quasi-natural experiment, the impact of policies in major grain-producing regions on ensuring national food security is examined using a difference-in-differences method based on inter-provincial panel data for 30 provinces across the country from 1997 to 2020, and the mechanisms of their effects are further analyzed. The findings show that (1) the main producing-areas policy has a significant driving effect on China's food security, with an average annual increase of 0.0351 units in the food-security index, and the impact is expanding year by year. (2) The policy of the main grain-producing provinces mainly plays a role in guaranteeing food security by expanding the scale of grain cultivation and the scale of family land management in the main grain-producing provinces, and the scale effect of grain cultivation has a more significant impact. Further adjusting and improving the policy of the main grain-producing areas and expanding the scale-driven effect of this policy are of great significance for transforming agricultural production methods and realizing a strong agricultural country.

Regional integration policies and urban green innovation: Fresh evidence from urban agglomeration expansion.

Climate change is a non-traditional security crisis affecting the global economy and diplomatic progress. In order to curtail carbon emissions and alleviate the perils of climate change at their roots, urban green innovation (UGI) has emerged as a pivotal technological solution. Using the expansion of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration in China as a case study, this paper develops a quasi-experimental model to analyze the effects of regional integration policies on UGI. The main findings are: (1) Regional integration policies significantly enhance UGI and their impact is more pronounced with the expansion of urban agglomerations; (2) Regional integration policies contribute to the advancement of exploitative green innovation while tending to diminish exploratory green innovation; (3) The green innovation effects (GIEs) created by the expansion of regional integration policies are largely influenced by governmental mechanisms on environmental governance as well as residents' green preferences. Based on these findings, recommendations are put forward to promote UGI from the perspective of policy implementation.

The impact of China's carbon trading policy on enterprises' energy-saving behavior.

This paper mainly investigates whether emissions trading for pollutant permits more effective. By employing difference-in-differences method and a compressive firm-level dataset, we evaluate the impact of carbon trading system pilot cities policy on enterprises' energy-saving behavior. The findings indicate that after carbon trading system pilot cities policy, enterprises' coal consumption and coal intensity decreased by almost 34 % and 33 % respectively. The policy effect is more pronounced for larger companies and for firms in energy-intensive sectors. Moreover, the policy effect becomes stronger over time. Our results satisfy the common trend assumption. Meanwhile, the investment in equipment and output are increased, which prove emissions marketization could bring about substantial improvements in productivity.

The societal impact of individual placement and support implementation on employment outcomes for young adults receiving temporary health-related welfare benefits: a difference-in-differences study.

BACKGROUND: Individual placement and support (IPS) is an evidence-based practice that helps individuals with mental illness gain and retain employment. IPS was implemented for young adults at a municipality level through a cross-sectoral collaboration between specialist mental healthcare, primary mental healthcare, and the government funded employment service (NAV). We investigated whether IPS implementation had a causal effect on employment outcomes for all young adults in receipt of a temporary health-related rehabilitation (work assessment allowance, WAA) welfare benefit, measured at the societal level compared to municipalities that did not implement IPS. METHOD: We used a difference in differences design to estimate the effects of IPS implementation on the outcome of workdays per year using longitudinal registry data. We estimate the average effect of being exposed to IPS implementation during four-years of implementation compared to ten control municipalities without IPS for all WAA recipients. RESULTS: We found a significant, positive, causal effect on societal level employment outcomes of 5.6 (p = 0.001, 95% CI 2.7-8.4) increased workdays per year per individual, equivalent to 12.7 years of increased work in the municipality where IPS was implemented compared to municipalities without IPS. Three years after initial exposure to IPS implementation individuals worked, on average, 10.5 more days per year equating to 23.8 years of increased work. CONCLUSIONS: Implementing IPS as a cross sectoral collaboration at a municipality level has a significant, positive, causal, societal impact on employment outcomes for all young adults in receipt of a temporary health-related rehabilitation welfare benefit.

Synergistic effects of a carbon emissions trading scheme on carbon emissions and air pollution: The case of China.

Facing the dual pressures of the exacerbation of global climate change and the deterioration of the domestic environment caused by pollution, China has clearly adopted environmental regulatory measures to improve the climate environment. One measure is the carbon emissions trading scheme (CETS), which serves as a notable example of the country's efforts to improve the climate environment. We gathered panel data from 285 prefecture-level cities in China from 2005 to 2018 and used the Difference-in-Differences (DID) model to empirically examine the synergistic effects of the CETS on carbon emissions and air pollution. The results indicate that CETS have been effective in reducing urban carbon emissions by approximately 9.8%. Additionally, the schemes have caused a simultaneous reduction in particulate matter (PM)2.5 emissions by 11.7% and sulfur dioxide (SO2 ) emissions by approximately 9.7%, mitigating urban air pollution in China. It demonstrates that the scheme has significant synergistic effects on carbon emissions and air pollution. To achieve synergistic effects of CETS, effective measures include reducing energy intensity and upgrading the industrial structure. The implementation of CETS had heterogeneity in different conditions, and the synergistic effect of the scheme is more significant in eastern regions, large cities, and the final industrial stage. Our findings offer innovative solutions for the integrated management of carbon emissions and air pollution and provide valuable insights for policymakers to enhance China's CETS. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;00:1-13. © 2023 SETAC.

Does marine financial policy affect total factor productivity of marine enterprises? An empirical evidence based on Chinese first guidance on strengthening finance for marine economy.

In order to accelerate the marine economic transformation, and promote the development of marine finance, the Chinese government has promulgated the first "Guidance on Improving and Strengthening Financial Services for the Development of the Marine Economy" in 2018. This paper constructs a quasi-natural experiment and explores the impact of this policy on the total factor productivity (TFP) of marine enterprises using the difference-in-differences method. The results show that the policy has consolidated the micro foundation of marine finance to accurately serve the high-quality development of the marine economy, and is mainly achieved by reducing financing constraints and optimizing resource allocation efficiency. The promotion effect of TFP is more evident in marine enterprises with secondary industry, tertiary industry, and low government subsidies. In addition, the policy can affect the financing structure of marine enterprises, which can reduce the financing cost of enterprises and increase the number of equity financing of enterprises.

The Impact of New Urbanization Construction on Sustainable Economic Growth of Resource-Based Cities.

New urbanization construction is important for promoting sustainable economic growth in resource-based cities and can help resource-based cities achieve a sustainable development model with efficient resource allocation and green and low-carbon industrial transformation. Based on the background of the comprehensive pilot policy of new urbanization, we examined whether new urbanization construction promoted the economic growth of resource-based cities using 2011-2017 data on prefecture-level cities and the difference-in-differences (DID) method. It was found that new urbanization construction significantly promoted the growth in GDP per capita of resource-based cities, with a coefficient estimate of 0.1330, and this result passed a robustness test. The mechanism test indicated that new urbanization construction promoted the economic growth of resource-based cities by improving the efficiency of resource allocation and promoting industrial structure upgrading, with interaction term coefficient estimates of 0.1465 and 0.2929, respectively. Heterogeneity analysis showed that the policy effect of new urbanization construction was stronger in resource-rich cities than in resource-poor cities, significant in energy-based resource-based cities but not in metal-based and other resource-based cities, and significant in resource-based cities in the eastern and western regions of China but not in the central region. This study provides government departments implementing new urbanization policies with the results of a policy performance assessment of new urbanization construction for resource-based cities and feasible policy recommendations for the sustainable transformation of resource-based cities.

China's pilot free trade zone and green high-quality development: an empirical study from the perspective of green finance.

Achieving the integration of green and economic development has become the key to promoting high-quality economic development in China. In the context of dual-cycle development, a higher level of opening up will be an important prerequisite for achieving this goal. This article uses panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2008 to 2020 as the research sample and takes the establishment of the Pilot Free Trade Zone (PFTZ) as a quasi-natural experiment. By constructing the Green Dual-Cycle High-Quality Development (GDHD) indicator system, taking green finance as the starting point, industrial structure adjustment and technological innovation ability as the perspective of differentiation. This article uses the difference-in-differences method and the intermediary effect model to explore the impact of PFTZ on regional green high-quality development. The study found that establishing PFTZ has significantly promoted regional green high-quality development, and this effect remains valid under multiple robustness tests. Further research has found that, under the advantages of green finance in PFTZ, regional industrial restructuring and the improvement of green innovation capabilities are the main ways to achieve this goal. This study provides a new development path for China's PFTZ to promote high-quality regional development better.

Is carbon emission trading a green blessing or a curse for firm performance in China? A quasi-experiment design and exploring the spatial spillover effect.

This paper conducts quasi-experiment design with Chinese listed companies microdata to investigate the effect and mechanism of corporate participation in carbon emission trading market on firm financial performance by using the staggered difference-in-differences method. We show that: a) corporate participation in carbon emission trading market can enhance firm financial performance; b) an increase in green innovation ability and a decrease in strategic choice variance both partially mediate the relationship between carbon emission trading and firm performance; c) executive background heterogeneity and external environmental uncertainty moderate the relationship between carbon emission trading and firm performance in different directions; d) our further study indicates that carbon emission trading pilot policy has a spatial spillover effect on firm financial performance in the neighboring provinces. Therefore, we recommend that the government and enterprises make an effort to further stimulate the vitality of corporate participation in carbon emission trading market.

Does long-term care insurance reduce the disability among middle-aged and older adults? Evidence from China.

This study aimed to examine whether the implementation of Long-Term Care Insurance (LTCI) policy could reduce the disability among middle-aged and older adults in China, and to test the heterogeneity of the effects. Data came from four waves of the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS, 2011 to 2018). The Difference-In-Differences (DID) method and the panel data fixed effect model were used to estimate the effect of implementation of LTCI policy on disability among individuals aged 45 years and above. The LTCI policy had a positive impact on reducing disability among middle-aged and older people. Females, younger adults, city dwellers, and individuals living alone benefited the most from LTCI policy. The results provided empirical evidence for the implementation of LTCI policy in China and other similar countries as China. The implementation of LTCI policy should also pay more attention to inequity of the effects on reducing disability among different demographic groups.

The impact of long-term care insurance system on family care: Evidence from China.

AIMS: The inconsistent findings on the impact of the long-term care insurance (LTCI) system on family care require us to extend our study horizon to more countries with LTCI system designs or market practices. China has explored the LTCI system through pilot programs, which provide a quasi-natural experimental environment. This paper aims to examine how the LTCI system affects family care in China. METHODS: We primarily employ the time-varying difference-in-differences method to perform regression analyses based on the panel data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. RESULTS: We discover a 7.2% rise in family care under the LTCI system. Specifically, the LTCI system is more likely to promote family care as the relatively primary care for disabled women, disabled people aged 60-74, and those who cannot fully take care of themselves. In addition, the formal care support policy of LTCI will crowd in both formal care and family care, and the crowding-in-effect on formal care may even obscure the crowding-in-effect on family care. The family care support policy of LTCI may encourage the policy-covered groups to take family care as their relatively primary care. It may also lengthen family care for those groups. CONCLUSIONS: The LTCI system has a crowding-in effect on family care. It can increase family care through cash payments or linking formal and informal care resources by providing formal community and home care.

Solar farm policy and farmland price - A land zoning perspective.

Photovoltaic or solar energy is recognized as a significant source of renewable energy on a global scale. The utilization of ground-mounted solar panels is closely associated with the use of farmland, as solar power generation typically requires vast expanses of farmland. While previous studies have explored the use of price incentives to regulate the adoption of solar panels, little is known about the impact of land zoning policies on farmland prices. The relationship between farmland use policies and farmland prices is well-documented, with policies often capitalizing into the value of the land across various countries. The deployment of ground-mounted solar panels has raised concerns about the potential loss of farmland and the degradation of the farming environment. However, the policy debate has largely overlooked the price capitalization effect of solar panel installations. In an effort to mitigate the adverse effects of solar panels on agriculture, the Taiwanese government implemented revised zoning regulations that impose stricter limitations on small-scale ground-mounted type solar panels installed on farmland. As a result of this policy reform, solar panels are no longer permitted on farmland areas measuring less than 660 square meters. While it is expected that the installation of solar panels will slow down, the resulting price effects on farmland remain poorly understood. This paper measures the impact of the land zoning regulation on farmland prices in Taiwan. By utilizing nationwide data on farmland transactions and employing the difference-in-differences method, we discover that the tightened regulations pertaining to solar panel installation have led to a 21.8% reduction in farmland prices. Furthermore, the negative price effect is found to be least pronounced in high-productivity farmland. We also find that the decline in prices commenced two months after the reform and continued to intensify over time. Additionally, we identify a distributional effect concerning price, whereby farmland with higher prices per hectare experiences the most significant impact. Consequently, our study contributes an empirical analysis that confirms the substantial price capitalization effects of land zoning policies on farmland.

Can regional joint prevention and control of atmospheric reduce border pollution? Evidence from China's 12th Five-Year Plan on air pollution.

Border pollution is usually a difficult problem in environmental governance. Based on the data at the county level in China from 2005 to 2019, this study takes the 12th Five-Year Plan (FYP) for atmospheric pollution as a policy shock, and uses the difference-in-differences (DID) method to explore the impact of regional joint prevention and control (JPC) of atmospheric pollution policy on air pollution of the border regions. Empirical results show that: (1) After implementing the JPC of atmospheric pollution policy, the PM2.5 concentration in the border regions is reduced by 3.5%. (2) The mechanism analysis shows that there is a spillover effect in the governing behaviors of local governments. In the border areas under low economic growth pressure and high environmental protection pressure, the reduction effect of the JPC of atmospheric pollution policy is more significant on the PM2.5 concentration of the border regions. The research conclusions have new insights into the role and effect of macro-regional environmental JPC policy and border pollution control, and provide practical guidance for social green governance.

Can new-type urbanization promote the green intensive use of land?

An analysis of how new-type urbanization in China impacts the green intensive use of land not only provides us with an important reference basis, but also helps support decision-making when promoting new-type urbanization. This paper theoretically analyzes how new-type urbanization influences the green intensive use of land and takes the implementation of China's new-type urbanization plan (2014-2020) as a quasi-natural experiment. To empirically analyze the impact and mechanism of new-type urbanization on the green intensive use of land, we take the panel data of 285 Chinese cities from 2007 to 2020 and use the Difference-in-differences method. Results show that new-type urbanization facilitates green intensive use of land, a conclusion which is verified by several robustness tests. Furthermore, the effects are heterogeneous with respect to urbanization stage and urban scale, both of which exert a stronger driving effect in the later stages of urbanization and in large cities. Further analysis of the mechanism shows that new-type urbanization can promote green intensive land use through an innovation effect, a structural effect, a planning effect and an ecological effect.

Quantifying the Effectiveness of Environmental Regulations on Green Total Factor Productivity: Evidence Based on China's Environmental Protection Interview Program.

The effectiveness of environmental regulations on green total factor productivity (GTFP) is controversial, and the mechanisms of the relationship between environmental regulation and GTFP are unknown. In this article, we take advantage of the Environmental Protection Interview (EPI) program-the harshest environmental monitoring program in Chinese history-to carry out a natural experiment to estimate the effect of environmental regulation on GTFP. Applying a time-varying difference-in-differences model based on city panel data from 2003 to 2018 in China, we determined that the EPI can lead to an average GTFP promotion of 35.6%, but the effect of the EPI is not consistent in the long term. A heterogeneity analysis documented that the effect of the EPI on GTFP is more significant in cities with low initial GTFP levels and low economic levels. A mechanism analysis showed that the EPI increases GTFP, basically, through technical creativity and industrial structure upgrading.

The Impact of Location-Based Tax Incentives and Carbon Emission Intensity: Evidence from China's Western Development Strategy.

This study seeks to address the question of whether China's Western Development Strategy (WDS) has affected the carbon emission intensity of the regions it covers. There remains a distinct lack of analysis based on the normative causal inference method regarding the impact of this economic development policy on carbon emissions. Our research contributes to the large body of international literature studying the effects of place-based policy and has implications for place-based policies regarding the impact of carbon emissions. It constructs a duopoly model to illustrate the relationship between lower prices of capital (caused by policies such as tax reduction) and carbon emissions. Using county-level data on both sides of the provincial boundary of the WDS from 1998 to 2007, and applying the difference-in-differences method, our results indicate that the WDS has significantly increased carbon emission intensity of the western counties. Our findings also indicate that while the WDS has had no significant positive effect on counties' economic growth, no policy trap effect was found. There is also no evidence suggesting that the economic activities attributable to the WDS have brought any negative externalities of carbon emissions to the counties east of the western provincial border.

Achieving carbon neutrality: the effect of China pilot Free Trade Zone policy on green technology innovation.

Evaluating the effect of China pilot Free Trade Zone (FTZ) policy on green technology innovation is important for achieving China's carbon neutrality targets. Based on the panel data of 30 provincial administrative regions in China from 2009 to 2019, this study investigates the effect of the pilot FTZ policy on green technology innovation by using the difference-in-differences method. The study's findings indicate the following: (1) The pilot FTZ policy promotes the development of green technology innovation, and there is a policy lag in a few pilot regions. (2) The mediation effect analysis shows that the pilot FTZ policy promotes the development of green technology innovation by improving the marketization process and enhancing innovative talent gathering. (3) The heterogeneity analysis shows that the pilot FTZ policy is more effective in promoting green technology innovation when implemented in regions with developed economies or higher levels of human capital. Moreover, the pilot FTZ policy mainly has a significant promoting effect on green utility model patents. Based on these results, policy recommendations are proposed to promote the development of green technology innovation and the achievement of China's carbon neutrality targets.

How does digital technology promote carbon emission reduction? Empirical evidence based on e-commerce pilot city policy in China.

Digital technology is an effective way to realize the carbon neutrality target in China. Therefore, based on panel data at the city level in China from 2006 to 2016, we take the e-commerce pilot policy as a quasi-natural experiment, using the staggered difference-in-differences (DID) method to explore the effect of digital technology development on carbon emissions and its transmission mechanism. The conclusion of this paper shows that (ⅰ) the e-commerce pilot policy has significantly reduced carbon emissions. After a series of robustness tests, this empirical conclusion is still valid. (ⅱ) The inhibitory effect of different waves of e-commerce pilot cities on carbon emissions sequentially decreases. The e-commerce pilot policy has a greater effect on reducing carbon emissions in non-old industrial based cities and non-resource-based cities. (ⅲ) Implementing the e-commerce pilot city policy mainly reduces urban carbon emissions by optimizing resource allocation, reducing energy consumption and upgrading the industrial structure. (ⅳ) In addition, implementing the e-commerce pilot city policy has a significant positive carbon-reducing linkage effect with the carbon trading pilot policy and the low-carbon city pilot policy. The findings of this paper provide empirical evidence for carbon emission reduction, which has implications for upgrading urban construction patterns and promoting green urban development.