Fluctuation in the transformation of economic development and the coupling mechanism with the environmental quality of resource-based cities – A case study of Northeast China

Abstract

In the developmental process of resource-based cities, environmental problems are easy to ignore, which can make ecological environmental protection and governance sluggish and bring adverse effects to subsequent economic development. Northeast China is the birthplace of China's industry and is still an important strategic energy base in China. This paper selects resource-based cities in Northeast China as the research object and analyzes them with data from 2000 to 2019. By using the H-P filtering and regression model, the fluctuation characteristics and influencing factors of economic development in different types of resource cities are explored, and then the coupling coordination model and VAR model are used to analyze the coupling relationship and interactive response mechanism between the transformation of economic development and environmental quality in sample cities. The results show that (1) the transformation of economic development of resource-based cities in Northeast China has significant cyclical fluctuations; (2) although the economic development and environmental quality of resource-based sample cities at different life stages have the tendency of self-reinforcing and inertia growth, the interaction between the economic development and environmental quality differs among these cities. The economic development of mature-type cities has a positive enhancement effect on environmental quality, and the economic development of regenerative-type cities involves a negative and then positive effect on environmental quality. However, the effect direction of recession-type cities is the opposite. Their environmental quality has a first negative and then positive effect on economic development. Such different effects have guiding value for the follow-up adoption of differentiated regulatory policies.