IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/tefoso/v174y2022ics0040162521007320.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does trade in services improve carbon efficiency? —Analysis based on international panel data

Author

Listed:
  • Feng, Rui
  • Shen, Chen
  • Huang, Liangxiong
  • Tang, Xuan

Abstract

Trade in services has become an important driving force of high-quality and low-carbon growth in the global economy. Existing literature has largely focused on carbon efficiency from the perspective of trade in (final or intermediate) goods, but this study is one of the first to use data from multiple countries to investigate the theoretical and empirical impacts of trade in services on carbon efficiency. Taking into consideration the factors of market size, technological innovation and structural adjustments, this study discusses the impact of import and export trade in services on carbon efficiency. Using a carbon efficiency index calculated with the slacks-based measure model under the variable return to scale assumption in combination with the Global Malmquist–Luenberger index, panel data from 55 countries around the world from 2001 to 2015 was used to empirically test the relationship. The following results were found: trade in services significantly improved carbon efficiency; other conditions being equal, an increase of 1% in total trade in services increased the carbon efficiency index by approximately 0.00194 units; the improvement in carbon efficiency as a result of trade in services was greater in exports; and imported services had an inhibitory effect on carbon efficiency. These results are robust and remain after accounting for endogenous issues. Further tests showed that service exports had a positive effect on carbon efficiency in different countries and industries, and imported services had different effects in each direction in different countries and different industries. In addition, following a change in national leader, the financial crisis in 2008, and the signing of the Kyoto Protocol, trade in services had a greater promotional effect on carbon efficiency. This article can serve as a theoretical reference on optimizing global trade in services and improving carbon efficiency.

Suggested Citation

  • Feng, Rui & Shen, Chen & Huang, Liangxiong & Tang, Xuan, 2022. "Does trade in services improve carbon efficiency? —Analysis based on international panel data," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 174(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:tefoso:v:174:y:2022:i:c:s0040162521007320
    DOI: 10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121298
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0040162521007320
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.techfore.2021.121298?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.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Holger Görg & David Greenaway, 2016. "Much Ado about Nothing? Do Domestic Firms Really Benefit from Foreign Direct Investment?," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: MULTINATIONAL ENTERPRISES AND HOST COUNTRY DEVELOPMENT Volume 53: World Scientific Studies in International Economics, chapter 9, pages 163-189, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    2. Haug, Alfred A. & Ucal, Meltem, 2019. "The role of trade and FDI for CO2 emissions in Turkey: Nonlinear relationships," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 297-307.
    3. Grossman, G.M & Krueger, A.B., 1991. "Environmental Impacts of a North American Free Trade Agreement," Papers 158, Princeton, Woodrow Wilson School - Public and International Affairs.
    4. Dong-hyun Oh, 2010. "A global Malmquist-Luenberger productivity index," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 34(3), pages 183-197, December.
    5. Zhang, Lulu & Xiong, Lichun & Cheng, Baodong & Yu, Chang, 2018. "How does foreign trade influence China’s carbon productivity? Based on panel spatial lag model analysis," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 171-179.
    6. Arik Levinson, 2010. "Pollution and international trade in services," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 10(2), pages 93-105, June.
    7. Markusen, James R, 1989. "Trade in Producer Services and in Other Specialized Intermediate Inputs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 79(1), pages 85-95, March.
    8. El Khoury, Antoine C. & Savvides, Andreas, 2006. "Openness in services trade and economic growth," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 92(2), pages 277-283, August.
    9. Nicholas Bloom & Mirko Draca & John Van Reenen, 2016. "Trade Induced Technical Change? The Impact of Chinese Imports on Innovation, IT and Productivity," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 83(1), pages 87-117.
    10. Zhou, P. & Ang, B.W. & Han, J.Y., 2010. "Total factor carbon emission performance: A Malmquist index analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(1), pages 194-201, January.
    11. Bas, Maria, 2014. "Does services liberalization affect manufacturing firms’ export performance? Evidence from India," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 569-589.
    12. Burgess, Robin & Venables, Anthony J., 2004. "Toward a microeconomics of growth," Policy Research Working Paper Series 3257, The World Bank.
    13. László Halpern & Miklós Koren & Adam Szeidl, 2015. "Imported Inputs and Productivity," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(12), pages 3660-3703, December.
    14. Maria Bas, 2014. "Does services liberalization affect manufacturing firms’ export performance? Evidence from India," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-01297201, HAL.
    15. Jayanthakumaran, Kankesu & Verma, Reetu & Liu, Ying, 2012. "CO2 emissions, energy consumption, trade and income: A comparative analysis of China and India," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 450-460.
    16. Chuanwang Sun & Tiemeng Ma & Xiaoling Ouyang & Rong Wang, 2021. "Does Service Trade Globalization Promote Trade and Low-Carbon Globalization? Evidence from 30 Countries," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 57(5), pages 1455-1473, April.
    17. Hu, Hui & Xie, Nan & Fang, Debin & Zhang, Xiaoling, 2018. "The role of renewable energy consumption and commercial services trade in carbon dioxide reduction: Evidence from 25 developing countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C), pages 1229-1244.
    18. Su, Xiaoyan & Anwar, Sajid & Zhou, Ying & Tang, Xuan, 2020. "Services trade restrictiveness and manufacturing export sophistication," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 51(C).
    19. Pardo Martínez, Clara Inés, 2013. "An analysis of eco-efficiency in energy use and CO2 emissions in the Swedish service industries," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 47(2), pages 120-130.
    20. Maria Bas, 2013. "Does Services Liberalization Affect Manufacturing Firms' Export Performance? Evidence from India," Working Papers 2013-17, CEPII research center.
    21. Butnar, Isabela & Llop, Maria, 2011. "Structural decomposition analysis and input-output subsystems: Changes in CO2 emissions of Spanish service sectors (2000-2005)," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(11), pages 2012-2019, September.
    22. Fei Xu, 2018. "The Belt and Road," Springer Books, Springer, number 978-981-13-1105-5, November.
    23. Chambers, Robert G. & Chung, Yangho & Fare, Rolf, 1996. "Benefit and Distance Functions," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 407-419, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Changya Di & Decai Tang & Yifan Xu, 2023. "Impact of Digital Economy on the High-Quality Development of China’s Service Trade," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-19, August.
    2. Xiao Ling & Yue Gao & Guoyong Wu, 2023. "How Does Intensive Land Use Affect Low-Carbon Transition in China? New Evidence from the Spatial Econometric Analysis," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(8), pages 1-26, August.
    3. Hongze Liang & Xiaoli Hao, 2023. "Can Service Trade Effectively Promote Carbon Emission Reduction?—Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-23, August.
    4. Ning Xu & He Zhang & Tixin Li & Xiao Ling & Qian Shen, 2022. "How Big Data Affect Urban Low-Carbon Transformation—A Quasi-Natural Experiment from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-16, December.
    5. Li, Shuangmei & Zhu, Xuehong & Zhang, Tao, 2023. "Optimum combination of heterogeneous environmental policy instruments and market for green transformation: Empirical evidence from China's metal sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C).
    6. Fukuyama, Hirofumi & Tsionas, Mike & Tan, Yong, 2024. "The impacts of innovation and trade openness on bank market power: The proposal of a minimum distance cost function approach and a causal structure analysis," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 312(3), pages 1178-1194.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hongze Liang & Xiaoli Hao, 2023. "Can Service Trade Effectively Promote Carbon Emission Reduction?—Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-23, August.
    2. Aihua Wang & Qiqi Ruan & Teng Zhou & Yanzhen Wang, 2022. "Digitizable Product Trade Development and Carbon Emission: Evidence from 94 Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-15, November.
    3. Sèna K. Gnangnon, 2021. "Aid for Trade and services export diversification in recipient countries," Australian Economic Papers, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 60(2), pages 189-225, June.
    4. Huang, Geng & Lin, Xi & He, Ling-Yun, 2023. "Good for the environment? Foreign investment opening in service sector and firm's energy efficiency," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 127(PA).
    5. Matteo Fiorini & Bernard Hoekman & Clément Malgouyres, 2018. "Services policy reform and manufacturing employment: Evidence from transition economies," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 41(9), pages 2320-2348, September.
    6. Gnangnon, Sèna Kimm, 2020. "Aid for Trade and Services Export Diversification in Recipient-Countries," EconStor Preprints 210467, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    7. Ajayi, Patricia & Ogunrinola, Adedeji, 2020. "Growth, Trade Openness and Environmental Degradation in Nigeria," MPRA Paper 100713, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Giordano, Claire & Lopez-Garcia, Paloma, 2019. "Firm heterogeneity and trade in EU countries: a cross-country analysis," Occasional Paper Series 225, European Central Bank.
    9. Beverelli, Cosimo & Fiorini, Matteo & Hoekman, Bernard, 2017. "Services trade policy and manufacturing productivity: The role of institutions," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 166-182.
    10. Bas, Maria, 2020. "The effect of communication and energy services reform on manufacturing firms’ innovation," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(2), pages 339-362.
    11. Abdelaaziz Aït Ali & Yassine Msadfa, 2017. "Manufacturing Employment Elasticity and Its Drivers in Developing and Emerging Countries : Focus on Sub-Saharan Africa," Research papers & Policy papers 1709, Policy Center for the New South.
    12. Juan Du & Yongrui Duan & Jinghua Xu, 2019. "The infeasible problem of Malmquist–Luenberger index and its application on China’s environmental total factor productivity," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 278(1), pages 235-253, July.
    13. Chen, Xiang & Chen, Yong & Huang, Wenli & Zhang, Xuping, 2023. "A new Malmquist-type green total factor productivity measure: An application to China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    14. Bai, Zhuoran & Meng, Shuang & Miao, Zhuang & Zhang, Yan, 2019. "Services Liberalization and Export Diversity: Theory and Evidence from Chinese Firms," MPRA Paper 95862, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    15. Görg, Holger & Hanley, Aoife, 2017. "Globalization: Implications for firms in Germany," KCG Working Papers 5, Kiel Centre for Globalization (KCG).
    16. Soumen Rej & Barnali Nag & Md. Emran Hossain, 2022. "Can Renewable Energy and Export Help in Reducing Ecological Footprint of India? Empirical Evidence from Augmented ARDL Co-Integration and Dynamic ARDL Simulations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-21, November.
    17. Fiorini, Matteo & Hoekman, Bernard, 2018. "Services trade policy and sustainable development," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 1-12.
    18. Pan Rao & Xiaojin Liu & Shubin Zhu & Xiaolan Kang & Xinglei Zhao & Fangting Xie, 2022. "Does the Application of ICTs Improve the Efficiency of Agricultural Carbon Reduction? Evidence from Broadband Adoption in Rural China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-19, June.
    19. Letisha S. Fong & Alberto Salvo & David Taylor, 2020. "Evidence of the environmental Kuznets curve for atmospheric pollutant emissions in Southeast Asia and implications for sustainable development: A spatial econometric approach," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 28(5), pages 1441-1456, September.
    20. Jabbour, Liza & Tao, Zhigang & Vanino, Enrico & Zhang, Yan, 2019. "The good, the bad and the ugly: Chinese imports, European Union anti-dumping measures and firm performance," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C), pages 1-20.

    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:eee:tefoso:v:174:y:2022:i:c:s0040162521007320. 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.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with 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: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00401625 .

    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.