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Toward Sustainable Development: The Impact of Green Fiscal Policy on Green Total Factor Productivity

Author

Listed:
  • Peikai Luo

    (School of Government, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing 100029, China)

  • Chenchu Zhang

    (School of Government, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing 100029, China)

  • Bohui Cheng

    (School of Government, University of International Business and Economics, Beijing 100029, China)

Abstract

Green fiscal policy draws worldwide attention from policymakers as a potential mechanism that contributes to sustainable development. However, although many studies have discussed the economic consequences of green fiscal policy, there is still a lack of studies that systematically quantify the productivity impacts of green fiscal policy. Therefore, to fill this gap, China’s Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction Fiscal Policy Pilot (ECER) and difference-in-differences (DID) identification method were chosen to explore the impact of green fiscal policy on green total factor productivity (GTFP). We find that ECER significantly enhances urban GTFP, and it holds after a series of robustness tests. Moreover, we explore the mediating mechanisms that may explain this effect: government environmental regulation, green technology innovation, and industrial structure optimization. Further analysis shows that the positive effect of ECER is more significant when (1) government transparency is high; (2) government financial autonomy is high; (3) government digital transformation is high; (4) the city’s resource endowment is high; and (5) the city’s economic development level is high. Overall, our study provides new insights into the economic consequences of green fiscal policy.

Suggested Citation

  • Peikai Luo & Chenchu Zhang & Bohui Cheng, 2025. "Toward Sustainable Development: The Impact of Green Fiscal Policy on Green Total Factor Productivity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-21, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:3:p:1050-:d:1578590
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Jing Zhang & Jun Shen & Zhifang Wu & Lei Nie, 2025. "Pollution Transfer or Industrial Upgrading: The Impact of Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction Fiscal Policy on Urban Green Total Factor Productivity in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(20), pages 1-24, October.

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