Impact of different types of environmental regulation on employment scale: an analysis based on perspective of provincial heterogeneity.

Abstract

Firstly, we divided the existing environmental regulation policies into two types as "expense-type" and "investment-type" according to their characteristics. And then we analyzed the mechanism how the two kinds of environmental regulation policies acted on employment and tested the affected degree of two kinds of environmental regulation on employment through using the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2000 to 2015. Finally, we did the empirical research by subdividing types of above 30 provinces according to the provincial heterogeneity in industrial structure and education level of the residents. Results showed that (1) the effect of expense-type environmental regulation on the provincial employment exhibited as "U" curve form and the intensity of environmental regulation in China were still on the decline phase of the "U" curve in "12•5" period. The effect of investment-type environmental regulation on the provincial employment was always positive, and it can indirectly increase provincial employment scale by rising provincial technology levels. (2) The effects of provincial economic development level, capital, and technology investment on regional employment were significantly positive. But due to the crowding-out effect of economic opening on indigenous technology, the effect of economic opening on regional employment wasn't significant. (3) The upgraded provincial industrial structure to tertiary industry as the main industry and strengthening the education level of residents all could reduce the inflection point of the "U" curve and accelerate the realization of the "Win-win situation" between environmental improvement and employment growth.