Peer effects on rural household carbon emissions in China

Household carbon emissions are a key area for China to achieve carbon reduction, which is closely related to the goal of peaking carbon emissions and achieving carbon neutrality. Based on the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) data from 2012 to 2020 and the Carbon Emission Accounts and Datasets (CEADs), the carbon emissions of rural households in China were measured. A systematic study was conducted using double/debiased machine learning method and Probit (Logit) models to investigate the relationship and mechanism between the same group effect and household carbon emissions. The results indicate that: (1) The peer effect has a significant positive impact on carbon emissions of rural households in China, and promoting green lifestyles can have an impact on individuals' low-carbon decisions through the reference group. (2) The mechanism by which the peer effect affects the carbon emissions of rural residents in China is mainly through informational and normative social influences. The former reveals that the carbon emissions of low social status families in various regions (counties) are influenced by the average level of carbon emissions of high social status families, indicating that farmers' carbon consumption behavior depends on information provided by others; The normative social impact emphasizes that when there is a significant difference in carbon consumption between households and surrounding populations, it is not conducive to obtaining a higher sense of social belonging, and this impact has a lag effect. (3) The impact of the peer effect on farmers' carbon emissions is heterogeneous. Compared with low-income families, the same group effect has a relatively greater impact on carbon emissions of high-income farmers; compared with the central and western regions, the peer effect has a relatively greater impact on the carbon emissions of farmers in the eastern region.