Going green in China: Firms' responses to stricter environmental regulations
研究发现2006年中国环境改革使企业大幅减排，主要依靠技术升级（75.3%）而非减产，但污染企业未增加绿色创新，而本地设备制造商增加了绿色专利，同时企业利润、就业等受到负面影响。
Abstract This paper finds that major 2006 Chinese environmental reforms creating mandatory emission reduction targets led firms to significantly reduce emissions, especially for firms in more polluting industries. A decomposition of the overall effect shows that firms relied primarily on technology upgrading (75.3%) rather than output cuts (24.7%) in meeting the regulatory changes. The driving forces for this “technique effect” are more water recycling and abatement device adoption. While polluting firms did not increase their green innovation, local equipment manufacturers—likely suppliers—did significantly increase green water patent applications, indicating an expanded environmental service market effect. Tests on firms' economic responses provide more evidence for an “internal” variant of the pollution haven hypothesis because firms' profit, capital, employment, market shares, and entry were all negatively affected by the more stringent regulation.