Impact and internal driving factors of global value chain production length on carbon emission efficiency: evidence from china’s manufacturing industry

Using China’s manufacturing data from 2007 to 2019, this study empirically examines the impact of global value chain (GVC) production length variation on the carbon emission efficiency (CEE) and its internal driving factors. Furthermore, the study considers the threshold characteristics under the change of research and development (R&D) investment, which is crucial for promoting the development of a low-carbon economy and realizing China’s carbon neutrality strategy in the context of GVC production length variation. The findings are as follows: (1) An increase in backward production length can enhance CEE, whereas forward production length and CEE have a U-shaped relationship. The inhibiting effect of forward production length will be significantly decreased when R&D intensity exceeds the threshold. (2) Heterogeneity analysis reveals that an increase in backward production length in both high-energy-consumption and non-technology-intensive industries inhibits CEE. (3) Scale efficiency is the primary driver of the short-term inhibiting effect of forward production length on CEE, whereas pure technical efficiency is the key driver of backward production length on CEE. To develop new methods to improve CEE, China’s manufacturing industry should begin by expanding R&D investment and optimizing industry scale, as well as fully utilizing the advantages of labor and resource endowment by engaging in the GVC’s division of labor.