Influence of a Carbon Tax on Low-Carbon Trade Competitiveness of the Paper-Making Industry

Abstract

Abstract Policies to constrain carbon emissions, such as the carbon tax, have made low-carbon trade competitiveness (LCTC) a significant tendency in research concerning industrial international competitiveness. However, few empirical studies have analyzed the influence of a carbon tax on LCTC. We combined the trade competitiveness index and industrial carbon productivity to construct an industrial LCTC index that can analyze carbon emissions performance and international competitiveness. We then used the LCTC index to build a dynamic panel model with its potential factors, which was estimated by system generalized method of moments method based on panel data of 38 countries between 1995 and 2009. We found evidence that a carbon tax exerts an indirect positive influence on the LCTC of the paper-making industry by stimulating technological innovation. The policy implications suggest that, considering the increasingly intensified countermeasures against carbon leakage, governments should strengthen the promo...