Impact of economic development and environmental regulations on greywater footprint loads in the Yellow River Basin in China

Abstract

The Yellow River Basin (YRB) is the most important ecological barrier and economical area in China. A national strategy of China now encompasses the ecological preservation and high-quality development of the YRB. Environmental regulation is a key strategy to reduce the environmental resources consumption generated by economic expansion in the YRB and to achieve economic and environmental synergistic development. Provincial panel data from 2005 to 2020 of nine provinces in the YRB were utilized to construct an economic-water system in the YRB. Coupled and econometric models were combined to explore the relationship between economic development and greywater footprint loads (GWFL) in the YRB. Moreover, different types of environmental regulations variables were introduced into the model to reveal the moderating effect. The results showed that 1) Each province in the YRB exhibits a different level of coupling coordination and exhibits variability. 2) In the YRB, the association between GWFL and economic growth displayed an inverted “N” curve. The baseline regression results remain robust after controlling for the spatial spillover and time-lagged effects of economic development on GWFL. 3) Environmental regulations will accelerate the inhibitory effect of economic development on GWFL. This study can offer valuable policy insights in achieving the synergistic improvement of both environmental and economic quality.