Did the “double carbon” policy improve the green total factor productivity of iron and steel enterprises? a quasi-natural experiment based on carbon emission trading pilot

Based on the data of listed companies in China’s iron and steel industry from 2007 to 2020, the article investigates the impact mechanism and the path of action of China’s carbon emissions trading pilot on the green total factor productivity of iron and steel enterprises by constructing a multi-period difference-in-difference model difference-in-differences. The study finds that: 1) China’s iron and steel enterprises significantly improve their green total factor productivity driven by the carbon trading pilot, and the findings pass the corresponding robustness tests. 2) the mechanism analysis indicates that the carbon trading pilot promotes the green total factor productivity of iron and steel enterprises by forcing the technological progress of enterprises. 3) The heterogeneity analysis shows that the positive effect is more significant for large iron and steel enterprises with high social responsibility rating and high local government competition intensity, but not for small enterprises with low social responsibility rating and low local government competition intensity. 4) the dynamic effect shows that there is a certain lag in the promotion effect of the carbon emission trading pilot on the green total factor productivity of iron and steel enterprises, but its long-term effect is more obvious. This paper puts forward corresponding suggestions for accelerating the construction of a national unified green and low-carbon market system and actively promoting the deepening of the “dual-carbon” goal.