Carbon peak and carbon neutrality are important development goals for China so the issue of carbon emissions from cultural and related manufacturing has received increasing attention. The objective of this paper is to clearly present the current status and historical evolution of the carbon emissions and carbon emissions efficiency of cultural and related manufacturing (CEECM) in 17 provinces in the Yangtze River Basin in China from 2012 to 2019. This paper mainly uses two research methods: the super-efficiency DEA analysis method is used to measure the CEECM in the various regions and the Theil index analysis method is used to study the regional differences in the CEECM in these regions. It was found that there were large differences in the carbon emissions of cultural and related manufacturing in the various regions and the energy consumption also varied greatly. In 2019, Guangdong province had the highest amount of carbon emissions from cultural and related manufacturing industries in the Yangtze River Basin, followed by Jiangsu and Fujian. On the whole, the eastern part of the Yangtze River Basin had more emissions than the central and western parts. From 2012 to 2019, the carbon emissions of cultural and related manufacturing industries in the Yangtze River Basin showed an overall downward trend. In 2019, the city with the highest CEECM in the Yangtze River Basin was Shanghai, followed by Fujian and Sichuan. From 2012 to 2019, the average CEECM for the whole Yangtze River basin, the provinces of the main stream of the Yangtze River, and the provinces of the tributaries of the Yangtze River all showed a downward trend. According to the calculation, the average value of the Theil index from 2012 to 2019 was 0.905, which indicated that the regional differences in the CEECM among the provinces in the Yangtze River Basin were large. From 2012 to 2019, the regional differences in the CEECM for the Yangtze River basin as a whole, the provinces of the main stream of the Yangtze River, and the provinces of the tributaries of the Yangtze River all showed an inverted U-shaped development trend. The regional differences in the CEECM in 2013 were the largest and then showed a decreasing trend. After 2015, the fluctuation of the differences was relatively flat.

Chinese Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) has been a crucial policy for China, a major manufacturing and carbon-emitting country, in achieving its “carbon neutrality” goals and sustainable development. This paper examines the performance of the ETS in China through the perspective of resource misallocation, and to find out whether and how China’s ETS works cost-effectively. Using Propensity Score Matching and the Difference-in-Differences (PSM-DID) method, this paper empirically investigates the relationship between China’s ETS and resource misallocation. The results show that: (a) the capital misallocation in ETS pilot areas is higher than other areas, while the labor misallocation in ETS pilot areas is lower than other areas. (b) The estimation results of PSM-DiD show that the ETS in China aggravated the capital misallocation, while it significantly improved the labor misallocation. The post-treatment test shows that the aggravation of the capital misallocation may fade with time, and the improvement of labor misallocation remains unchanged. (c) The proxy variable “state-owned” did significantly improve both capital and labor misallocation, indicating that the ETS in China worked partly and effectively as a “command-and-control” instrument. All the robustness tests are constructed, proving that the main results remain stable and reliable. This paper may provide some marginal contributions to the ever-growing empirical literature about the policy effects and mechanism of the carbon emission policies. These results prove that although the ETS is theoretically considered to be a market-oriented and cost-effective instrument, the supplementary policies are still essential and effective for ETS. These results also show that it may require a combination of diversified policies to reduce carbon emissions while maintaining sustainable economic growth.

This research constructs a two-region dynamic general equilibrium (DGE) model. Utilizing numerical simulations, it thoroughly reveals the mechanisms through which public infrastructure investment affects the integration of domestic trade and further examines the determining factors of the effects of public infrastructure investment on domestic trade integration. The research indicates that public infrastructure investment has a significant inverted U-shaped impact on domestic trade integration, meaning there exists an optimal scale of public infrastructure investment to maximize domestic trade integration. This is due to the linkage mechanism of public infrastructure investment affecting transaction efficiency in production trade, specialization of production, trade home bias, and thereby influencing inter-regional economic and trade relations as well as domestic market integration. The substitutability of products, congestion of public infrastructure services, and labor friction (overhead labor) significantly affect the effects of public infrastructure investment on domestic trade integration, with notable regional disparities. The findings have important implications for public infrastructure investment policies aimed at promoting the development of domestic trade integration.