‘Best-scenic zone’ selection as a method of reducing sulfur dioxide emissions: A quasi-experiment in Chinese urban environmental governance

Abstract

By treating the designation of “best-scenic zone” as an exogenous event for a natural experiment, we apply a difference-in-difference method to gauge the extent to which the designation of best-scenic zone can help alleviate the conflict caused by environmental protection and economic growth for local governments, increase the attention to environmental governance, and therefore reduce the emission of sulfur dioxide. Our results indicate a significant reduction of sulfur dioxide emissions in cities designated as best-scenic zone, especially in ones facing high public pressure. Our study enriches studies on environmental governance by guiding local governments on how to strike a balance between economic growth and environmental governance.