Abstract
Achieving high-quality environmental development through environmental regulations and thus enhancing public health is a goal of the Chinese government. Based on the panel data of 30 Chinese provinces from 1998 to 2017, this study demonstrates the co-benefits of environmental regulations on air quality, water, and public health through a panel Granger causality model and mediation effect model. The findings indicate that environmental regulations have a Granger causal effect on public health costs and air and water pollution. Furthermore, the results from the mediation effect model suggest that waste gas treatment could improve air quality, thus reducing public health costs; wastewater treatments could not only reduce public health costs through improvement of the water environment but also increase social welfare. Additionally, air pollution exhibits a greater negative externality impact on health than water pollution. Thus, environmental regulation policies should pay more attention to air pollution control. The findings of this study indicate that environmental regulations have a significant co-benefit on high-quality environmental development and public health.
Highlights
In recent years, health losses due to environmental pollution have received much attention in public and academic circles
What are the effects of environmental regulations on social welfare? To answer this question, this study investigates environmental regulations’ impact on environmental quality and their co-benefits on health through decreasing environmental pollution
Environmental regulations measured by waste gas treatment reduce social health costs by improving the quality of the atmospheric environment, producing health co-benefits
Summary
Health losses due to environmental pollution have received much attention in public and academic circles. The above facts indicate that improving environmental quality can significantly reduce health risks and increase social welfare. According to the latest data from the global urban pollution database of the World Health Organization, in 2014, 10 of the 20 most polluted cities were in China. When one is analyzing the co-benefits of environmental regulations on environmental quality and health, China, the largest developing country in the world, can undoubtedly serve as an important reference for how to improve social welfare and how to promote the sustainable development of developing countries
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