What the study found
The study found that China’s carbon emissions trading system generally improves people’s well-being. The authors also report that green technology innovation is the main channel linked to this improvement.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that the carbon emissions trading system may affect people’s well-being, not only emissions outcomes. They also suggest that the role of fiscal expenditure decentralization and marketization should be considered when assessing this policy.
What the researchers tested
The researchers used panel data from 273 prefecture-level Chinese cities from 2008 to 2020. They measured well-being with the Entropy Weight Method- Technique for Order Performance by Similarity to Ideal Solution (EWM-TOPSIS), a method for combining multiple indicators into a single score, and estimated policy effects with a staggered Difference-in-Differences (DID) model.
What worked and what didn't
The carbon emissions trading system was associated with higher well-being overall. The mechanism analysis suggests green technology innovation is the main pathway, while fiscal expenditure decentralization negatively moderates the effect and marketization degree does not have a moderating effect. The study also reports threshold effects for fiscal expenditure decentralization and marketization, and heterogeneous impacts across regions and city types.
What to keep in mind
The abstract does not provide details on potential limitations beyond the stated scope of 273 Chinese cities from 2008 to 2020. It also reports some subgroup results as statistically insignificant for resource-based cities, but does not give the underlying estimates in the abstract.
Key points
- The carbon emissions trading system generally improves people’s well-being.
- Green technology innovation is identified as the main channel for this effect.
- Fiscal expenditure decentralization weakens the system’s impact on well-being.
- Marketization degree does not moderate the effect in the abstract’s summary.
- The effects differ by region and by whether cities are resource-based.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Carbon trading system improves well-being in Chinese cities
- Authors:
- Yanhong Zheng, Jiying Wang, Zhaoyang Zhao, Jinyun Guo
- Institutions:
- Fudan University, Sichuan University, Sichuan University, Sichuan University
- Publication date:
- 2026-01-07
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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