Does Environmental Regulation Increase Employment? Based on the SCM and RCM Methods

Whether environmental regulation can increase employment is still controversial in academic circles around the world.An important reason lies in the validity of an empirical method.Using China’s inter-provincial panel data from 2003 to 2015 and the synthetic control method(SCM),this paper focuses on a test that was carried out on the basis of a quasi-natural experiment of the 2007 Emission Trading Pilot(ETP)policy.The test results show that the ETP policy has increased the average employment level by 3.25 percentage points and passed a robustness test.The robustness test using the regression control method(RCM)shows that the average employment level has risen by 3.21 percentage points.This means that the ETP policy has significantly increased employment.The paper also puts forward three policy recommendations:optimizing the trading system for emissions rights,encouraging companies to carry out cleaner production and innovation,and incorporating environmental performance assessments.

Spatial emission reduction effects of China’s carbon emissions trading:quasi-natural experiments and policy spillovers

Insufficient assessment of emission reduction effects still exists in the carbon emission rights trading system,a major environmental regulation measure in China.Based on the data from the carbon trading pilot covering the years from 2007 to 2017,this study combined the synthetic control method with dynamic spatial Durbin model to comprehensively evaluate the spatial emission reduction effects of carbon trading policies.The results showed that:①The carbon trading policies promoted carbon emission reductions in the pilot regions,among which Tianjin and Hubei responded significantly,and also helped to suppress carbon emissions in the neighboring areas.②Long-term emission reduction effect from carbon emissions trading became gradually significant,while the indirect emission reduction effect was relatively weaker.③In term of reducing carbon emissions,the economic development channel played a key role,but it had a threat to the promotion of carbon emissions in the surrounding areas.Energy consumption was the main obstacle to the growth of carbon emissions.④In the long run,technological progress tended to become the key to the effective implementation of potential emission reduction effects of carbon trading policies.Based on the above findings,we suggest that the construction of a national carbon trading market should be promoted,the balanced development and orderly advancement of regional carbon trading markets should be paid attention to,the coordinated development of green economy as well as knowledge and technology exchange and cooperation among regions should be strengthened to form a low carbon development model among regions.

Effects of green energy development on population growth and employment:Evidence from shale gas exploitation in Chongqing,China

With the maturity of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies,countries rich in shale gas have begun to promote the development of the shale gas industry.The impact of the booming shale gas industry on the regional economy has also become a main focus.Shale gas’exploration and extraction may have positive spillover effects on other sectors,resulting in population growth and job creation.However,negative spillover effects can occur through rising local goods prices and its adverse effects on the local quality of life,which in turn could harm population growth and employment.By using the synthetic control method,we investigates the shale gas fields in Chongqing to reveal the relationship between population growth,employment and shale gas development in Fuling,Nanchuan and Wulong districts.Our results indicate that due to the development of the shale gas industry,the number of urban non-private sector employees in three districts and counties has decreased.From 2017 to 2018,this decline had gradually weakened and the population growth had been negatively affected.

The Impact of the Pilot Free Trade Zone on Regional Financial Development

This paper focuses on the Shanghai pilot free trade zone(FTZ).It investigates the effect of the FTZ policy on regional financial development.The synthetic control method employs quarterly data from 2005 to 2019 at the provincial level to investigate counterfactual states before and after the pilot FTZ was set up.First,our results reveal that the Shanghai pilotFTZ had a positive influence on the following four variables proxied for regional financial development:(i)the scale of regional financial development;(i)the efficiency of indirect financial development;(ii)the efficiency of direct financial development;(iv)the structure of financial development.Second,our results found that the policy effects that began to emerge from 2014 onwards exhibited a steadily increasing trend.As a result,the four proxy variables have increased by(i)197 percent,(i)202 percent,(ii)9.4 percent,and(iv)15.2 percent,respectively.That is,the scale of regional financial development and the efficiency of indirect financial development have increased more than theother proxy variables.

Impact of the Construction of Ecological Civilization Demonstration Areas on Carbon Emission Intensity

The development path from attaching importance to environmental protection to the theory of ecological conservation,then to piloting ecological civilization demonstration areas,marks that China’s ecological conservation has gradually moved from theoretical construction to practical exploration,based on the new idea that“lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets.”It is still an ordeal for China’s ecological conservation in the context of global warming how to reduce carbon emission intensity while maintaining sustained economic growth.Under the dual constraints of peaking carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality before 2060(“dual carbon”goals),this paper employs the five national ecological civilization pilot demonstration areas(ECDAs)established in 2014 as quasi-natural experiments based on the panel data of 30 Chinese provincial regions from 2003 to 2019.Based on the analysis of the policy implementation background and the theoretical mechanism of its impact on carbon emission intensity,the synthetic control method and difference in differences method are adopted to test the impact of the construction of ECDAs on carbon emission intensity and examine the spatial spillover effect of the pilot policies.The study shows that the construction of ECDAs has significantly reduced carbon emission intensity as a whole,especially in Fujian,Guizhou,and Yunnan Provinces.Moreover,the conclusions successfully pass the robustness test.The mechanism analysis results demonstrate that the construction of ECDAs can lower carbon emission intensity through the positive incentives from boosting technological progress and developing green finance,and the reversal pressure mechanism of optimizing the energy structure and improving the market segmentation.The analysis results of the spatial spillover effect indicate that the construction of ECDAs plays a significant role in reducing carbon emission intensity in the region and its adjacent areas.Therefore,China should introduce ECDAs and the experience gained to more regions.Meanwhile,China should spare no effort to seek multi-dimensional paths to reduce carbon emissions in view of regional differences in green development,and strengthen cross-regional communications and cooperation to realize the goals of carbon emission reduction.