Moving beyond gross domestic product: The impacts of gross domestic product-centric cadre performance targets shift on environmental protection

The impacts of the economic matrix, particularly the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), within the cadre performance target system (CPTS) on the trade-offs between local environment and economy have been extensively researched. However, few studies have adequately considered the transition from a single-target to a multi-target system and the effects of dynamic changes in this system. This study addresses this gap by assessing the causal effects of China's historic adjustment of GDP-centric CPTS on local environmental quality. By introducing a dynamic analytical framework of CPTS and employing a time-varying Difference-in-Differences (DiD) design with county-level data from 2009 to 2018, this study reveals two key findings: (1) Counties that shifted away from a GDP-centric performance target system experienced a significant average reduction in PM2.5 pollution levels by 6.6%, highlighting the environmental benefits of moving beyond GDP-focused CPTS; (2) The observed environmental improvements are driven by two mechanisms-correcting land misallocation and optimizing industrial structure. This study advances previous static and single-goal analyses by introducing a dynamic, multi-target perspective to cadre performance target-setting.