IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/endesu/v26y2024i2d10.1007_s10668-023-02932-8.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can regional integration reduce carbon intensity? Evidence from city cluster in China

Author

Listed:
  • Yi Feng

    (Nanchang University)

  • Diyun Peng

    (Nanchang University)

  • Yafei Li

    (Peking University)

  • Shuai Liu

    (National Academy of Economic Strategy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

Abstract

The free flow of factors resulting from regional integration affects not only economic and social activities between cities, but also climate and environmental changes. Under the goal of sustainable development, regional integration as a policy pathway to lower carbon intensity has rarely been clarified. In light of this, using panel data of 279 prefecture-level cities in China from 2006 to 2019, this paper treats city cluster planning as a quasi-natural experiment of regional integration and aims to discuss the impact and mechanism of regional integration on carbon intensity through difference-in-differences (DID) method, mediating effect model and moderating effect model. The following results are reached: (1) The implementation of regional integration policy effectively reduces carbon intensity, and the conclusion still holds after a series of robustness tests. (2) Total factor productivity (TFP) is the mediator of regional integration to reduce carbon intensity, and population density, technological innovation and industrial upgrading are the moderators. (3) The effect of regional integration in reducing carbon intensity varies from city location and city features. The proposed theoretical framework of regional integration affecting carbon intensity, containing mediator and moderators, not only enriches the theoretical research in the field of environment and region, but also provides a new policy path for exploring sustainable development. Therefore, it is necessary to build urban agglomerations integrating the concepts of green, low carbon, intensive and efficient.

Suggested Citation

  • Yi Feng & Diyun Peng & Yafei Li & Shuai Liu, 2024. "Can regional integration reduce carbon intensity? Evidence from city cluster in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(2), pages 5249-5274, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:endesu:v:26:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s10668-023-02932-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s10668-023-02932-8
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10668-023-02932-8
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10668-023-02932-8?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    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:spr:endesu:v:26:y:2024:i:2:d:10.1007_s10668-023-02932-8. 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.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.