Platform Sharing Economy and Carbon Emission

This paper investigates the environmental impacts of the sharing economy against the backdrop of China’s urban carbon reduction targets. Utilizing monthly panel data from 296 Chinese cities spanning the period 2015 to 2017, the study adopts a high-dimensional fixed effects model and treats the staggered Treat*Post of platform-based services as a quasi-natural experiment. The findings indicate that the Treat*Post associated with sharing economy platforms exerts a significant inhibitory effect on urban carbon emissions. To verify the credibility of these findings, a series of robustness checks have been conducted, encompassing placebo simulations, alternative model specifications, and sub-sample analyses, all of which confirm the reliability of the core results. Mechanism exploration reveals that the emission reduction effect is achieved through two key channels: the improvement of traffic efficiency and the enhancement of institutional synergy. This effect is particularly prominent in cities with stronger governance capabilities. Furthermore, heterogeneity analysis demonstrates that the carbon reduction effect of the sharing economy is more substantial in economically developed cities and those with a less industrialized economic structure. These research findings not only deepen the academic understanding of the interaction between digital platforms and environmental performance but also provide practical policy insights for promoting green innovation in urban governance practices.