The Impact of Mobile Payments on Consumption Carbon Emissions: Evidence from Households in China

This study investigates the impact of mobile payments on household consumption carbon emissions (HCCE). Using 2017 and 2019 China Household Finance Survey (CHFS) data, we employ a general equilibrium framework alongside Two-Way Fixed Effects and a Bartik-style instrumental variable approach. We find that mobile payment adoption significantly increases HCCE, particularly for developmental and experiential consumption. This emission-increasing effect is driven by relaxed liquidity constraints, consumption upgrading, and reduced payment pain. The impact is stronger among low-to-middle income, rural, and less-educated households. However, low-carbon policies and financial literacy effectively mitigate these effects. This paper contributes novel micro-behavioral insights to the finance-emission nexus.