The impact of export tax rebate reform on industrial exporters' soot emissions: Evidence from China

In this paper, we systematically explore the environmental effects of the export tax rebate rate reduction policy using the China Industrial Enterprise Database, the China Industrial Enterprise Pollution Database, and the China Customs Import and Export Database from 2005 to 2013. Our difference-in-difference (DID) estimates show that the reduction in the export tax rebate rate significantly reduces the intensity of corporate soot emissions, and this finding holds after a series of robustness tests. For every 1-unit reduction in export tax rebate rate, industrial exporters' soot emission intensity decreases by 2.63%. The mechanism analysis shows that the decrease in soot generation, the decrease in coal use intensity, the increase in total amount and efficiency of soot treatment are important channels. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the reduction of export tax rebate rate has a more significant impact on the intensity of soot emissions of high pollution, high energy consumption and resource-based enterprises. This study may provide a reference for other developing countries that also rely on export tax rebates to adjust their policies to combine economic growth with pollution control.