Research on the Impact of Environmental Regulation on the Upgrading of Manufacturing Industry Structure in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

Abstract

It is of great practical significance to explore the environmental regulation on the upgrading of the manufacturing industry structure in the Yangtze River Economic Belt. This paper covers the panel data of 11 provinces in the Yangtze River Economic Belt during the period of 2011-2022 and applies the fixed effect model to explore the impact of environmental regulation on the upgrading of the manufacturing industry structure in the Yangtze River Economic Belt in the form of empirical research. The results reveal that environmental regulations have a negative impact on the upgrading of the manufacturing industry structure in the Yangtze River Economic Belt; green technology innovation has a mediating effect between environmental regulations and the upgrading of the manufacturing industry structure in the Yangtze River Economic Belt; and there is regional heterogeneity in the upgrading of the manufacturing industry structure in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, with the strongest inhibition in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, the second in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the weakest in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. Conclusions are drawn: tax relief policies should be provided appropriately; the Yangtze River Economic Belt should adopt differentiated regional environmental regulation policies to adapt to the environmental characteristics of each place, and the promotion of green technological innovation should be strengthened at the same time.