Government carbon reduction policies and the shift to green lifestyles: The role of innovation, incentive, driving and economic effect

Abstract

This paper evaluates the impact of government efforts on the promotion of green lifestyles in realizing carbon emission reduction, a critical issue for achieving sustainable development. From the perspective of government policy, it examines the theoretical mechanisms through which government's attention to carbon reduction influences and catalyzes shifts in residents' adoption of green lifestyles. Employing an individual fixed-effects model, it conducts an empirical analysis to evaluate the influence of government's carbon reduction attention on the transformation of residents' environmental behaviors. Additionally, it investigates the transmission pathways through which these government actions affect green lifestyles changes and it also examines the moderating role of economic effect in this process. Our findings reveal that governmental emphasis on carbon reduction significantly fosters the adoption of green lifestyles among residents, with which innovation, incentive and driving effect serves as different mediating factors. Moreover, the degree of marketization exhibits a positive moderating effect. We further analyze regional heterogeneity, noting that governments in western and northern regions have a more pronounced effect on promoting green lifestyles transitions. Overall, this study can offer valuable insights into the policy mechanisms that can accelerate societal green transformation and enhance efforts to reduce carbon emissions.

Keywords: Carbon reduction; Driving and economic effect; Government's attention; Green lifestyles; Incentive effect; Innovation effect.