Is policy pilot a viable path to sustainable development? Attention allocation perspective

Policy pilot programs are gaining attention as innovative governance to encourage sustainable development. However, their effectiveness and influencing factors are debated, while the impact of these pilots under varying concentrations of societal attention is underexplored. This study examined whether policy pilots can aid in sustainable development. We investigated China's carbon emissions trade pilot policy (COTPP), a market-driven environmental regulation. Using a difference-in-differences methodology, we analyzed 13,559 firm–year observations spanning 2011–2021 to assess the policy's impact on corporate carbon emissions. The empirical findings indicate that COTPP implementation significantly reduced…