Can the Low-carbon City Pilot Policy Promote the Upgrading of Industrial Structure?
SONG Yang1,2, ZHANG Yue2
1. China State-owned Economic Research Center, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China; 2. School of Economics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China
Abstract Using panel data of 247 cities from 2006 to 2022 as the sample, this paper examines the impact of the low-carbon city pilot policy on industrial structure upgrading. The results indicate that the low-carbon city pilot policy significantly promotes industrial structure upgrading. This conclusion remains valid after a series of robustness tests. The mechanism analysis confirms that the policy significantly enhances the level of industrial structure sophistication, rationalization and ecologization through the effects of technological innovation and incentive mechanisms. The heterogeneity analysis shows that the policy effects are influenced by a city’s level of innovation, carbon emissions and carbon productivity. In cities with high levels of innovation and high carbon emissions, the low-carbon city pilot policy effectively promotes industrial structure upgrading. In cities with strong carbon productivity, the pilot policy more significantly enhances the rationalization and ecologization of the industrial structure. This research has important theoretical and policy significance for further promoting the pilot construction of low-carbon cities and formulating industrial structure upgrading strategies.
2025, Vol. 42 
