The Effect of Place-Based Policy on Urban Land Green Use Efficiency: Evidence from the Pilot Free-Trade Zone Establishment in China

The improvement of urban land green use efficiency is significant in promoting sustainable development. As an important place-based policy in China, the pilot free-trade zone establishment has exerted a profound impact on urban economy and society. Meanwhile, the issue of whether the pilot free-trade zone can improve urban land green use efficiency or not is missing from prior literature, which is the concern of this study. Specifically, based on the super-efficiency slacks-based measure model, we first measure urban land green use efficiency of 279 cities in China from 2011 to 2019 and then use the multi-period difference-in-differences method to investigate the causal effect of the pilot free-trade zone establishment on urban land green use efficiency. The results show that the pilot free-trade zone significantly improved urban land green use efficiency, especially in the eastern cities, the coastal cities, and the cities with a high economic development level. Further, there exists a spatial spillover effect of the pilot free-trade zone on urban land green use efficiency. This study has implications for optimal allocation of urban land in the deployment of place-based policies, serving economic structural upgrading and a carbon neutrality vision.