Will Low-Carbon Economy Promote Employment or Not: An Empirical Study Based on 1998-2010 Provincial Panel Data in China

Binqin YANG, Chenghong XU, Yu LI

Abstract


Sampling on China’s provincial panel data from 1998 to 2010, this paper constructs China’s Cumulative Malmquist Carbon Dioxide Emission Performance Index (CMCPI) as a proxy variable to measure its development of low-carbon economy. System GMM estimation method is applied to explore the relationship between CMCPI and the employment in China, including the total employment and the employment structure in energy-intensive and low-power industries. The main three conclusions are as follows: (i) China’s CO2 Emission Performance is highest in Eastern China and lowest in Central China; (ii) the provincial differences of MCPI is mainly due to the provincial technology changes rather than efficiency changes; (iv) higher carbon dioxide emission performance significantly promotes the employment of low-power industries and the total employment, but it seems to impede the employment of energy-intensive industries in Eastern China. It is found that higher CMCPI would increase the total employment and improve the employment structure in Eastern China, while that doesn’t happen in Central and Western China.

Keywords


CMCPI; total employment; employment structure

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References


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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/%25x

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