《数量经济技术经济研究》编辑部

文章摘要

谢谦,金才淇.内陆自贸区建设与企业污染减排——来自全国税收调查的微观证据[J].数量经济技术经济研究,2025,(5):136-156

内陆自贸区建设与企业污染减排——来自全国税收调查的微观证据

Inland Free Trade Zone Construction and Corporate Pollution Reduction: Micro-evidence from National Tax Survey Data

DOI：

英文关键词: Inland FTZs Corporate Pollution Abatement National Tax Survey Data Trade and Environment

基金项目:

作者	单位
谢谦	中国社会科学院经济研究所、中国社会科学院大学经济学院
金才淇	中国社会科学院大学经济学院

中文摘要:

党的二十大报告明确提出加快推进自由贸易试验区建设，并纵深推进污染防治。中国设立自由贸易试验区十余年来，在全国发挥了改革开放排头兵的示范引领攻坚作用。然而相比于沿海自贸区而言，内陆地区中小微企业偷排偷放现象突出，加之内陆自贸区与企业污染减排之间的内在联系尚未厘清。有鉴于此，本文采用2013~2020年全国税收调查数据探究了内陆自贸区设立对于企业污染减排的影响及其内在机制。研究发现，内陆自贸区设立显著促进了企业污染减排，且企业主要通过绿色技术创新、金融资源配置优化以及服务贸易自由化三个渠道实现污染减排。本文为内陆自贸区建设以及内陆对外开放新高地建设的政策制定和制度优化提供理论依据，进一步为企业污染减排，尤其是中小微企业绿色转型提供可行路径。

英文摘要:

The report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party proposed, for the first time, the implementation of a free trade pilot zone enhancement strategy. This is a significant measure for advancing high-level opening-up in China in the new era, and it holds important significance for accelerating the construction of a new development pattern and promoting high-quality economic development. Since the establishment of the China (Shanghai) Free Trade Pilot Zone in 2013, it has undergone seven rounds of development, forming a strategic layout of “1+3+7+1+6+3+1,” covering 22 pilot free trade zones (FTZs)/ports. This has established a new pattern of reform and opening-up covering all regions of China. Inland FTZs are playing a key role in building a new highland for high-level opening-up in the interior. Furthermore, in 2021, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, along with eight other departments, jointly issued guidance on strengthening protection of the ecological environment in free trade pilot zones to promote high-quality development. The aim is to advance the battle against pollution, comprehensively enhance the level of ecological environment protection in FTZs, and promote the harmonious development of trade, investment, and the ecological environment, thereby positioning FTZs as model examples for the collaborative and simultaneous promotion of high-quality economic development and high-level ecological protection. However, compared to coastal FTZs, inland FTZs face more severe environmental pollution and industrial transfer challenges. Moreover, they also face serious issues of small and medium-sized enterprises engaging in illegal discharges, exacerbating the difficulty of building new highlands for opening-up in the central and western regions. Therefore, this study uses national tax survey data from 2013 to 2020 to explore the impact of the establishment of inland FTZs on enterprise pollution reduction and its internal mechanisms, providing new ideas for achieving green development in inland FTZs.The results indicate that the establishment of inland free trade zones (FTZs) has significantly promoted pollution reduction by enterprises. Moreover, this result remains significantly valid after a parallel trend test, placebo test, discussions on endogeneity, and multiple robustness checks. Further mechanism analysis shows that companies have mainly achieved pollution reduction through three channels: green technological innovation, optimization of financial resource allocation, and the liberalization of service trade. In terms of heterogeneity, the impact of inland FTZs on pollution reduction has been more pronounced for large and medium-sized enterprises and those with higher profit margins. Moreover, inland FTZs have had a greater effect on pollution reduction in regions with better institutional environments.Based on these research conclusions, the following policy recommendations are proposed. First, the construction of inland free trade zones should be further emphasized, and increased attention should be paid to environmental quality within each jurisdiction. Second, the environmental assessment mechanism should be improved, and the hard constraints on corporate pollution reduction should be strengthened. Third, the “delegate power, improve regulation, and provide services” reform should be further deepened, and the establishment of a collaborative mechanism for pollution reduction should be accelerated. Fourth, it is necessary to shift the mindset for attracting investment to attract high-quality enterprises. Fifth, smaller enterprises should be leveraged to achieve a green transformation for small and medium-sized enterprises.This study makes four marginal contributions. First, it is the first to use micro-enterprise data from a national tax survey to measure the impact of inland FTZ establishment. In addition, it analyzes the internal mechanisms through which enterprises achieve pollution reduction, revealing the three channels of green technology innovation, optimization of financial resource allocation, and liberalization of service trade. In doing so, it enriches our theoretical understanding of inland FTZ establishment. Second, most studies to date have focused on the earlier and more developed coastal FTZs, while research on inland FTZs is relatively scarce. This study fills this research gap by analyzing inland FTZs, thereby not only enriching the theoretical research on free trade experimental zones but also providing valuable empirical evidence for policy formulation. Third, most studies to date have emphasized the economic effects of FTZ establishment, but have generally neglected the issue of environmental pollution in inland areas, particularly pollution violations by small and medium-sized enterprises. In contrast, this study focuses on the environmental effects of inland FTZ establishment and the pollution reduction outcomes of small and medium-sized enterprises after the establishment of inland FTZs. Fourth, traditional environmental regulations often rely on the government issuing mandatory administrative orders, but this provides insufficient incentives for enterprises to reduce pollution. This study examines the intrinsic influence mechanism of inland FTZ establishment on enterprise pollution reduction from the perspective of systematic environmental regulation and verifies that the institutional innovation of inland FTZs incentivizes enterprises to reduce pollution. It reveals the intrinsic connection between the government and enterprises, providing direction for coordinating economic development and high-level ecological protection in inland FTZs, and offering a model for nationwide experience promotion.

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