The Effects of the Dual Pilot Policy of Civilized City and Low-Carbon City on Green Production and Lifestyles: Empirical Evidence from China

Abstract

Green Production and Lifestyles (GPL) are essential for advancing green development and sustainable development. However, limited attention has been paid to their integrated transformation and the combined effects of social governance-oriented and environmental technology-oriented policies. This study examines the effects of the Dual Pilot Policy (DP) of the National Civilized City Program and the Low-Carbon City Pilot Policy on urban GPL transition. Using balanced panel data from 276 prefecture-level cities in China during 2002–2023, we employ a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) model. The results show that the DP significantly increases the GPL index by 0.0367 units, equivalent to a 3.67% improvement on a 0–1 scale. The DP generates a stronger additional combined effect than individual policies, while “Civilized City first, followed by Low-Carbon City” produces a stronger effect. The effects are more pronounced in non-resource-based cities, non-old industrial base cities, cities outside the Yangtze River Basin, and coastal cities. Mediation analysis identifies government support, industrial structure upgrading, and public GPL awareness as important channels, while significant spatial spillover effects are also observed. These findings provide empirical evidence for optimizing policy combinations.