Carbon dioxide emission reduction effects of non-economic sector tournaments: Evidence from the national civilized city selection

High-quality economic development necessitates considering the environmental and economic advantages of green and low-carbon growth. Unlike “GDP” promotion tournaments, in non-economic sector tournaments (NESTs), the central government selects cities from various perspectives. It assesses officials’ performance in social civilization and environmental management. National Civilized City Selection (NCCS) awards honorary titles and enhances the brand of winning cities through competition and recognition, avoiding uneven economic growth caused by excessive attention to economic benefits. This study examines NCCS as a key example of NEST and uses a multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) model to explore how effective NESTs are at reducing carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions. Results show that NCCS significantly lowers CO₂ intensity while promoting economic and environmental benefits. Mechanism analysis indicates that NCCS achieves this by encouraging greener production, optimizing energy consumption, and strengthening environmental regulations. Moreover, NCCS improves social welfare in winning cities. Cities with more substantial political incentives and higher public environmental literacy exhibit better governance outcomes. Additionally, the NEST framework is particularly effective in reducing CO₂ intensity in large, non-resource-based cities and regions with varying development levels.