Abstract
The aim of this paper is to analyze the impact of environmental regulation on regional environmental efficiency convergence using the fixed effects model and threshold regression model. The results show that the differences in environmental efficiency have a convergence trend in China, as well as in the eastern, central and western regions. The effect of environmental regulation on regional environmental efficiency is inhibition first and then promotion, research and development investment and outward foreign direct investment have a positive transmission effect; when environmental regulation intensity exceeds a certain threshold, the growth rate of environmental efficiency in the central and western regions will be significantly higher than that in the eastern regions.
Highlights
Environmental regulation promotes environmental efficiency, it presents variations due to the different initial endowments of regional factors
Tion, we explore the mechanisms from the perspectives of research and development (R&D) investments, outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) and foreign direct investment (FDI) and analyze whether R&D investments, OFDI and FDI can help to narrow the regional environmental efficiency gap under the role of environmental regulation to further clarify the relationship between variables
This paper studies the regional heterogeneity of environmental efficiency convergence, and explores the impact of environmental regulation on environmental efficiency convergence
Summary
Environmental regulation promotes environmental efficiency, it presents variations due to the different initial endowments of regional factors. Whether the strengthening of environmental regulation will narrow the regional environmental efficiency gap, enhance the coordination of regional development and affect the convergence of environmental efficiency differences represents an important problem that needs further analysis and discussion. Previous research mainly discussed the effect of environmental regulation and the relationship between environmental regulation and environmental efficiency, whereas few scholars have compared the effect of environmental regulation in different regions and determined the reasonable threshold values of environmental regulation. This paper includes environmental regulation in the research framework, analyzes the marginal effect and regional heterogeneity of environmental regulation, establishes a reasonable threshold for environmental regulation for each region to explore whether environmental regulation can promote the convergence of regional environmental efficiency and narrow the gap of environmental efficiency among the eastern, central and western regions.
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