Low-carbon strategy, entrepreneurial activity, and industrial structure change: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment

As the top carbon emitter in the world, a key step taken by China to encourage energy conservation, pollution reduction, and environmentally friendly development is the low-carbon city pilot (LCCP) policy, which has made important contributions to reducing global emissions. The LCCP policy aims to conserve energy and reduce emissions, inexorably influence many facets of the economic system because it is a well-rounded environmental management strategy. So, has this policy impacted the entrepreneurial activity of the region while achieving green development? Using panel data from China's 279 cities from 2002 to 2019, this article employs the difference-in-differences (DID) model to assess the influence of the LCCP policy on urban entrepreneurial activity. Through the results, the LCCP policy generally inhibits entrepreneurial activity. But the level of green innovation can alleviate this inhibitory effect. Based on the heterogeneity analysis, the LCCP policy exerts a more pronounced inhibitory effect on entrepreneurial activity in central and western regions, resource-based cities, and non-central cities. Further, the LCCP policy inhibits entrepreneurial activity in high-carbon industries while encouraging entrepreneurial activity in emerging industries, resulting in industrial structure change and upgrading. This paper supplies new empirical evidence for the effects of the LCCP policy on entrepreneurial activity and industrial structure change.