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Global value chain participation and firm-level carbon emissions: Evidence from China

Huahua Ge, Xiaoxi Zhang, Pengfei Gao Orcid Logo, Mengjia Li

Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Volume: 77, Pages: 313 - 326

Swansea University Author: Pengfei Gao Orcid Logo

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DOI (Published version): 10.1016/j.strueco.2026.02.001

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of firm-level participation in global value chains (GVCs) on carbon emissions, using panel data on Chinese A-share listed firms from 2009 to 2023. We construct firm-level measures of GVCs participation based on overseas revenue and export intensity, and combine the...

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Published in: Structural Change and Economic Dynamics
ISSN: 0954-349X
Published: Elsevier BV 2026
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URI: https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa71374
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last_indexed 2026-03-13T05:24:47Z
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spelling 2026-03-12T13:28:42.1205455 v2 71374 2026-02-03 Global value chain participation and firm-level carbon emissions: Evidence from China bd00b4a498e1c45d25e0fcdab1838b26 0009-0008-7818-1231 Pengfei Gao Pengfei Gao true false 2026-02-03 CBAE This study investigates the impact of firm-level participation in global value chains (GVCs) on carbon emissions, using panel data on Chinese A-share listed firms from 2009 to 2023. We construct firm-level measures of GVCs participation based on overseas revenue and export intensity, and combine them with manually collected carbon emission data. Employing several robustness checks, we find evidence that deeper GVC participation significantly increases firms’ carbon emission intensity, supporting the pollution haven hypothesis. Mechanism analyses show that firms with higher expansion capacity experience a stronger emission-increasing effect, consistent with a scale-expansion channel. In contrast, technological innovation does not significantly attenuate the emission effects of GVC participation, suggesting that the environmental benefits of technology upgrading through GVCs have not yet been fully realized. Overall, the findings highlight the dominance of scale effects in shaping firms’ environmental outcomes and point to the importance of enhancing green technology diffusion and value-chain upgrading. Journal Article Structural Change and Economic Dynamics 77 313 326 Elsevier BV 0954-349X 1 4 2026 2026-04-01 10.1016/j.strueco.2026.02.001 COLLEGE NANME Management School COLLEGE CODE CBAE Swansea University Not Required 2026-03-12T13:28:42.1205455 2026-02-03T09:03:09.3136509 Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences School of Management - Accounting and Finance Huahua Ge 1 Xiaoxi Zhang 2 Pengfei Gao 0009-0008-7818-1231 3 Mengjia Li 4 71374__36397__cab0d2ecdb6e4199b3164f96c23e9fd2.pdf 71374.AAM.pdf 2026-03-12T13:26:10.1044596 Output 810040 application/pdf Accepted Manuscript true Author accepted manuscript document released under the terms of a Creative Commons CC-BY licence using the Swansea University Research Publications Policy (rights retention). true eng https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.en
title Global value chain participation and firm-level carbon emissions: Evidence from China
spellingShingle Global value chain participation and firm-level carbon emissions: Evidence from China
Pengfei Gao
title_short Global value chain participation and firm-level carbon emissions: Evidence from China
title_full Global value chain participation and firm-level carbon emissions: Evidence from China
title_fullStr Global value chain participation and firm-level carbon emissions: Evidence from China
title_full_unstemmed Global value chain participation and firm-level carbon emissions: Evidence from China
title_sort Global value chain participation and firm-level carbon emissions: Evidence from China
author_id_str_mv bd00b4a498e1c45d25e0fcdab1838b26
author_id_fullname_str_mv bd00b4a498e1c45d25e0fcdab1838b26_***_Pengfei Gao
author Pengfei Gao
author2 Huahua Ge
Xiaoxi Zhang
Pengfei Gao
Mengjia Li
format Journal article
container_title Structural Change and Economic Dynamics
container_volume 77
container_start_page 313
publishDate 2026
institution Swansea University
issn 0954-349X
doi_str_mv 10.1016/j.strueco.2026.02.001
publisher Elsevier BV
college_str Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchytype
hierarchy_top_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_top_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
hierarchy_parent_id facultyofhumanitiesandsocialsciences
hierarchy_parent_title Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences
department_str School of Management - Accounting and Finance{{{_:::_}}}Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences{{{_:::_}}}School of Management - Accounting and Finance
document_store_str 1
active_str 0
description This study investigates the impact of firm-level participation in global value chains (GVCs) on carbon emissions, using panel data on Chinese A-share listed firms from 2009 to 2023. We construct firm-level measures of GVCs participation based on overseas revenue and export intensity, and combine them with manually collected carbon emission data. Employing several robustness checks, we find evidence that deeper GVC participation significantly increases firms’ carbon emission intensity, supporting the pollution haven hypothesis. Mechanism analyses show that firms with higher expansion capacity experience a stronger emission-increasing effect, consistent with a scale-expansion channel. In contrast, technological innovation does not significantly attenuate the emission effects of GVC participation, suggesting that the environmental benefits of technology upgrading through GVCs have not yet been fully realized. Overall, the findings highlight the dominance of scale effects in shaping firms’ environmental outcomes and point to the importance of enhancing green technology diffusion and value-chain upgrading.
published_date 2026-04-01T05:38:30Z
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score 11.099917

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