Content analysis of China’s environmental policy instruments on promoting firms’ environmental innovation

Abstract

Environmental policy instruments play an important role in promoting environmental innovation. They can not only solve the problem of externalities in environmental innovation, but also provide support for its development through subsidies, tax incentives, etc. This study constructs an analytical framework from the dimensions of policy type and policy targets of two stages of environmental innovation, and selects 231 environmental policies issued by the Chinese government as well as various ministries and commissions from 1987 to 2016 to promote environmental innovation as the research sample. The results show that the issue of environmental policy is mainly in the form of notification and lacks of authority. The use of market-based instruments is more frequent than that of command-control and information-based instruments. Environmental policy instruments focus on environmental innovation adoption rather than environmental innovation research and development; the use of government procurement, information disclosure and other policy measures are relatively inadequate.