关键词: 贸易自由化, 能源效率, 资源再配置, 中介效应模型

Abstract:

Based on a comprehensive review of the research related to energy efficiency, this paper uses China’s industrial enterprises’ pollution data and the Chinese industrial enterprises data from 1998 to 2012 to calculate the energy efficiency of enterprises using the total factor method, and examines the impact of trade liberalization on enterprises’ energy efficiency from the micro-enterprise level. The research results show that trade liberalization has a significant role in promoting the energy efficiency of enterprises. After considering sample selection bias, the endogenous nature of trade liberalization, and the use of different estimation methods and measurement indicators, the core conclusions of this article are still valid. In addition, an intermediary effect model is constructed to examine how trade liberalization affects the energy efficiency of enterprises. It is found that the “technical effect” and the “scale effect” brought about by trade liberalization are two channels to promote the improvement of enterprises’ energy efficiency. The dynamic decomposition method of Melitz and Polance is then used to decompose the energy efficiency at the industry level, and to quantify the contribution of structural adjustments(re-allocation of resources) caused by trade liberalization to the improvement of industry energy efficiency. The results show that 50.47% of the industry-level energy efficiency improvement is attributed to the effect of the structural adjustment(re-allocation of resources), whichis another important channel through which trade liberalization affects the energy efficiency. Trade liberalization has a stronger role in promoting the energy efficiency of non-exporting companies than that of exporting companies. Therefore, trade liberalization plays a greater role in promoting the energy efficiency of non-exporting companies. Besides, trade liberalization plays a greater role in promoting the energy efficiency of foreign-funded enterprises than that of domestic enterprises. The possible explanation is that after trade liberalization, domestic companies participating in the division of labor in the international market can gain access to more advanced energy-saving technologies from abroad. However, when these companies use advanced energy-saving technologies from abroad, they are to encounter the best technology matching problem. There is a generation gap between the foreign technology and the doemstic technology grasped by these companies, thus it’s hard for them to fully absorb the foreign advanced energy-saving technologies; where as foreign-funded enterprises, inherently “foreign” without any technological gaps, can seamlessly connect with foreign advanced energy-saving technologies, so foreign-funded enterprises are better at absorbing and utilizing foreign advanced energy-saving technologies to improve their energy efficiency. Therefore, trade liberalization has a greater effect on improving the energy efficiency of foreign-funded enterprises than that of domestic enterprises. The promotion effect of trade liberalization on high energy-consumption industries is lower than that on low energy-consumption industries. Therefore, the high energy-consumption industries are less sensitive to the scale effects brought about by trade liberalization than the low energy-consumption industries. Thus the promotion effect of trade liberalization on high energy-consumption industries is lower than that on low energy-consumption industries. Trade liberalization has a stronger role in promoting the energy efficiency of enterprises in the eastern region than in the central and western regions. Trade costs in the eastern region are lower, and tariff cuts of the same magnitude will have a greater impact on enterprises in the eastern region. Coupled with stronger environmental regulations in the eastern region, the interactive impact shows that trade liberalization has a greater effect on enterprises in the eastern region than in the western region. The research conclusions of this article contain important policy implications. Trade liberalization helps to improve the energy efficiency of enterprises. It shows that measures to promote trade liberalization, such as lowering non-tariff barriers and cutting tariffs, not only accelerate China’s foreign trade development and economic growth, but also enhance China’s energy efficiency by improving enterprises’ energy efficiency. While the rapid development of foreign trade has promoted the rapid growth of China’s economy, the consequent contradiction between the energy supply and demand has become increasingly prominent and has become one of the important factors restricting the sustainable development of China’s economy. How to effectively promote the economic development while reducing the energy consumption per unit of GDP is the key to transforming the backward development model of “high energy consumption and low output”. Through the “one size fits all” type of large-scale shut down of high-energy-consumption, high-emission, and low-output companies, energy efficiency can be significantly improved in the short term, but in the long run it will drag down the economic growth and harm the welfare of the entire society. Therefore, directly shutting down high-energy-consumption, high-emission and low-output enterprises is not a long-term strategy for energy conservation and emission reduction. Government departments can further promote the process of trade liberalization and expand opening to the outside world, which is conducive to the economic growth, so as to realize energy conservation and emission reduction, and ultimately achieve the “win-win” of economic development and energy conservation and emission reduction.

Key words: Trade Liberalization, Energy Efficiency, Resource Allocation Effect, Mediation Effect Model