Carbon intensity constraint policy and firm green innovation in China: a quasi-DID analysis

Jinhua Xu, Feisan Ye and Xiaoxia Li

Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 2024, vol. 15, issue 3, 704-730

Abstract: Purpose - This paper aims to empirically investigate the impact of the carbon intensity constraint policy (CICP) on green innovation. Design/methodology/approach - This study takes the implementation of the CICP as a quasi-natural experiment and uses a quasi–difference-in-difference method to investigate the impact of the CICP on firm green innovation from a microeconomic perspective. Findings - The CICP significantly limits the quality of firms’ green innovation. Among the range of green patents, the CICP distorts only patents related to CO2emissions. The inhibitory effect is more pronounced in non-state-owned enterprises and heavily polluting firms. R&D investment and green investor are identified as the main mechanism. Practical implications - These findings provide evidence for the influence of the CICP on firm green innovation, which can guide policymakers in China and other emerging economies that prioritize carbon intensity constraint targets and the improvement of relevant auxiliary measures. Social implications - Governments and firms should have a comprehensive understanding of environmental policies and corporate behavior and need to mitigate the negative impact through a combination of measures. Originality/value - This study contributes to the literature by providing additional empirical evidence regarding the two opposing sides of the ongoing debate on the positive or negative effects of CICP. It also provides new evidence on the policy effect of the CICP on firm green innovation, together with its mechanisms and heterogeneous influences.

Keywords: Carbon intensity constraint policy (CICP); Green innovation; Environmental regulation; Quasi-difference-in-differences (Quasi-DID) (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.110 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:sampjp:sampj-08-2023-0572

DOI: 10.1108/SAMPJ-08-2023-0572

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal is currently edited by Prof Carol Adams

More articles in Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().