Environmental Regulation Intensity Research Articles

Evaluation and influencing factors of green transformation in three major urban agglomerations in China

Since the 21st century, the world has increasingly focused on the issue of sustainable development, and the green transformation issues have become a new hot topic worldwide. Green and low-carbon transformation has become an international consensus. Urban agglomerations are important connections between urban development and regional coordination, as well as important spatial carriers for economic activities. They are not only the main source of carbon emissions, but also the main battlefield for energy conservation and emission reduction. As an important field for carbon reduction, the green transformation of cities is crucial for achieving the “dual carbon” goals. This article focuses on 48 cities in the three most mature and influential urban agglomerations in China from 2011 to 2019, namely, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration, the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, and the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration. The three-stage DEA model and Malmquist index model are used to measure the green transformation efficiency of the three urban agglomerations from both dynamic and static perspectives, and a Tobit regression model is constructed to explore the influencing factors of green transformation efficiency in urban agglomerations. Research has found that: 1) From a static perspective, the overall efficiency of green transformation in the three major urban agglomerations is at a high level, but from a temporal perspective, it shows a downward trend. The Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration is known for its green development, with the highest average efficiency of green transformation, followed by the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration has the lowest level of green transformation; 2) From a dynamic perspective, technological progress is the main driving factor for improving the efficiency of green transformation in the three major urban agglomerations. Therefore, the government should pay special attention to the progressiveness of technology when formulating relevant policies to promote urban green transformation; 3) From the perspective of spatiotemporal differences, there are significant differences in the spatiotemporal characteristics of green transformation among the three major urban agglomerations, and there are significant differences in green transformation strategies among different urban agglomerations. Eliminating environmental factors and random interference is necessary for accurately measuring the efficiency of green transformation in urban agglomerations; 4) From the perspective of influencing factors, factors such as industrial structure upgrading, green innovation level, and environmental regulation intensity jointly affect the efficiency of green transformation in urban agglomerations. Based on this, we should pay attention to the differences between urban agglomerations and implement policies tailored to local conditions; Strengthen the network system of urban agglomerations and avoid conflicts between cities; Encourage green technology innovation, accelerate industrial structure upgrading, and so on. This article focuses on the issue of green transformation in urban agglomerations, and conducts research from three perspectives: efficiency measurement, influencing factors, and implementation mechanisms. A relatively systematic theoretical framework for green transformation in urban agglomerations is formed, and an evaluation index system for green transformation efficiency in urban agglomerations is constructed and optimized. The composition mechanism of the five dimensional evaluation system for transformation efficiency is analyzed, and the bottleneck and breakthrough direction of the three major urban agglomerations in China in the development process are grasped. It has a good demonstration effect on the green transformation of other urban agglomerations.

Environmental regulatory intensity, green finance and corporate green sustainable development performance.

In the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, the emphasis is made on green and low-carbon initiatives, which has become a defining feature of China's development, and it is of great significance to help enterprises realize green and sustainable development under the guidance of environmental regulation to achieve the goal of "dual-carbon". At first, this research analyzes the decision-making process between the government and enterprises under environmental regulation using the evolutionary game model. Moreover, using the TOPSIS method, this paper constructs the indicators of corporate green sustainable development performance, and empirically examines the impact of the intensity of environmental regulation on the green sustainable development performance of enterprises based on the data of Chinese A-share listed enterprises from 2010 to 2022. A noteworthy positive correlation between the intensity of environmental regulation and the sustainable green development performance of enterprises is unveiled by the results. Mechanism tests suggest that the intensity of environmental regulation has a positive impact on the green sustainable development performance of enterprises through enhancing green finance and green technological innovation. Moreover, this effect tends to be more pronounced for enterprises that are in the mature life cycle, with green executive team, and high media attention. The research presented in this study contributes to establishing a novel theoretical foundation for corporate sustainable development.

Evolutionary Game Analysis of Green Supply Chain Management Diffusion under Environmental Regulation

The continuous deterioration of the ecological environment and the increasing scarcity of resources have posed a serious challenge to the survival and development of human beings, and the implementation of green supply chain management (GSCM) in this context is an effective means to ensure the sustainable development of society and the economy. In order to seek the optimal strategy of evolutionary game in the implementation of green supply chain management and explore the influence of environmental regulation intensity and public preference degree on the evolution process of green supply chain management diffusion development, this paper takes the study of green supply chain management diffusion as the core innovation point, and under the premise of environmental regulation, selects the government, the core enterprise, and the public as the participating bodies of green supply chain management diffusion, and uses the theory of evolutionary game to construct a diffusion model of green supply chain management. Using evolutionary game theory to construct a diffusion model, and with the help of MATLAB and other mathematical tools for numerical simulation analysis, we discuss the diffusion of the green supply chain and derive the optimal combination strategy. The results of the study show that: (1) there are four evolutionary stable states in the process of green supply chain management diffusion: preliminary diffusion, extinction, semi-diffusion, and full diffusion; (2) it will be beneficial for the government to promote the evolutionary diffusion of green supply chain management by implementing a higher intensity of pollution tax policy while implementing green supply chain incentive strategies; (3) the government, while implementing environmental regulation policies, should also pay attention to the guidance of the public’s awareness of environmental friendliness and greenness, and focus on the role of the comprehensive strategy selection of the three parties of the game in reaching the optimal state. The conclusions of the study provide theoretical guidance and decision support for the implementation and diffusion of green supply chain management under environmental regulation.

Research on total factor energy efficiency in western China based on the three-stage DEA-Tobit model.

As an essential material basis and power source for economic and social development, Western China's low energy use efficiency has hindered its sustainable economic development. This study aims to evaluate the total factor energy efficiency of the region and identify its influencing factors. A three-stage DEA model was used to measure the efficiency of 11 provinces from 2006 to 2021, and the Tobit model was employed to investigate internal factors. The findings show that (i) external environmental factors and stochastic perturbations have a significant impact on TFEE in the western region, overestimating integrated efficiency and scale efficiency and underestimating pure technical efficiency. (ii) the study of external influencing factors finds that the level of economic development increases input redundancy; the industrial structure increases capital input and labor input redundancy while decreasing energy input redundancy; and the energy consumption structure increases capital input and energy input redundancy while decreasing labor input redundancy. (iii) the study of internal influencing factors finds that the level of scientific and technological innovation, the level of openness to the outside world, and the TFEE have a positive correlation. In contrast, the intensity of environmental regulation has a negative correlation.

Spatiotemporal Differences in Marine Environment Quality in China and the Influencing Factors

Based on 2011–2020 panel data for China’s coastal cities and provinces, this study used the entropy method and Theil index to measure marine environment quality (MEQ) and construct MEQ indicators. We used the Theil index to measure heterogeneity in regional MEQ and a geographic detector model to explore the driving factors of MEQ. Our study resulted in the following findings: (1) MEQ increased in waves, but the overall quality was relatively low, forming a spatial distribution pattern of high in the north and south, and low in the east. Moreover, MEQ was polarized between provinces. (2) Regional MEQ showed a distribution pattern of significant differences between the east and the north but small differences in the south. The regional gap was significant but gradually narrowing, with the contribution rate of intra-regional differences reaching over 90%. Meanwhile, interregionalinter-regional differences were relatively small and showed a balanced development trend. (3) Agricultural and aquaculture pollution were found to be the main factors affecting MEQ. The effect of marine engineering pollution was significantly increasing while that of environmental regulation intensity was relatively weak. The interaction between different driving factors mainly manifested as dual-factor enhancement and nonlinear enhancement.

The impacts of different environmental regulations on firm’s performance in China based on R&D investment, environmental innovation and non-environmental innovation

ABSTRACT Emission standard, as a kind of mandatory environmental regulation, stipulates the emission standard of pollutants. The emission trading system (ETS) is regarded as a typical market-based environmental regulation. This study examines the impacts of mandatory environmental regulation (SO2 emission standard) and market-based environmental regulation (SO2 ETS) on firm performance in China. Listed firms in China are selected as research samples and a difference-in-differences (DID) model is employed as an assessment method. The results indicate that mandatory environmental regulation only has a significantly positive impact on environmental performance. However, the ETS improves environmental performance and economic performance simultaneously. This study further explores the effect mechanisms between two environmental regulations and firm performance that R&D investment, environmental innovation and non-environmental innovation are selected as different effect mechanisms. There are no impacts of mandatory environmental regulation on R&D investment and environmental innovation. However, it finds that the ETS can effectively decrease the crowding-out effect of R&D and thus trigger environmental innovation of the firm. According to heterogeneity analysis, the effect of market-based environmental regulation is significant in those regions with higher intensity of environmental regulation. It does not find significant effects of mandatory environmental regulation and market-based environmental regulation in regions with lower regulatory intensity.

Assessing the impact of environmental regulation on enterprise high-quality development in China: A two-tier stochastic frontier model

With the heightened concern of environmental sustainability, the relationship between environmental regulations and enterprise high-quality development(HQD) has become increasingly intertwined. However, the specific impact of environmental regulation on enterprise HQD remains unclear. Based on the panel data of A-share listed manufacturing companies in China from 2010 to 2020, this study constructs a two-tier stochastic frontier model to measure the bilateral effects of environmental regulation on enterprise HQD. The empirical results indicate the following: 1. The positive effect of environmental regulation makes the HQD of enterprises 54.995% higher than the frontier level, while its negative effect results in HQD being 16.215% lower than the frontier level. 2. The net effect of environmental regulation on enterprise HQD is positive over time, and it overall displays a W-shaped fluctuating downward trend. 3. Heterogeneity analysis, categorized by various criteria, shows that enterprises that are in non-heavily polluting industries, audited by listed accounting firms, state-owned enterprises, with higher investor attention, and in regions with lower intensity of environmental regulation, experience a greater net positive effect from environmental regulation. Policy implications are discussed to enhance the effectiveness of environmental regulation and high-quality development of enterprise

The impact of green finance on persistence of green innovation at firm-level: A moderating perspective based on environmental regulation intensity

Amid escalating global climate change and environmental degradation, green finance has emerged as a crucial tool for sustainable development and environmental protection. This paper examines data from Chinese A-share listed manufacturing companies (2004–2021), exploring the relationship between green finance, firms' persistent green innovation, and environmental regulation intensity. Key findings include: 1. There is a positive correlation between green finance and persistent green innovation; 2. Environmental regulation intensity moderates this relationship; 3. Heterogeneity analysis reveals a stronger promotion of persistent green innovation by green finance in large-scale and state-owned enterprises.

Environmental Regulation Intensity and Low-Carbon Technology Progress in the Context of the Internet of Things

Environmental Regulation Intensity and Low-Carbon Technology Progress in the Context of the Internet of Things

How does the environmental attention of local governments affect regional green development? Empirical evidence from local governments in China

Due to the continuous progress of constructing sustainable environments in China, the role played by the Chinese central government as the main body for promoting green development is worth studying. Because China’s ecological civilization building has been steadily progressing. Governments at all levels in China have prioritised the development of environmental civilization as a key aspect of regional growth. However, the actual impact and mechanisms of influence of this construction still require further investigation. This paper constructs a government environmental attention index using word frequency found in the Report on the Work of the Government. It uses a long difference model to study the impact and mechanism of government environmental attention on urban green efficiency, carbon emissions and air quality. The results show that the government’s ecological attention can improve green efficiency, and air quality, but it can also lead to increased carbon emissions, and the impact is particularly evident in the eastern and western regions of the country. This is because the government’s emphasis on the environment significantly impacts on environmental regulations and technological progress, and is directly influenced by fiscal bias and financial pressure. Given the results, we put forward some policy suggestions that local governments should improve the intensity of local environmental regulation, encourage green technology innovation, provide encouraging conditions for environmental development, and establish a long-term strategic vision. The findings in this study has implications for promoting the implementation of local governments’ environmental protection and the development of sustainable societies in China.

Environmental regulation, land use efficiency and industrial structure upgrading: Test analysis based on spatial durbin model and threshold effect

Environmental regulation promotes industrial structure change and regional economic transformation through land use adjustment, which gets a new way to explore the path of reforming traditional industrialization and urbanization. Based on the panel data of 128 prefecture-level cities in China 's Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2000 to 2020, this paper uses the spatial Dubin model to analyze the impact of environmental regulation and land use efficiency on the upgrading of industrial structure, and sets the panel threshold model to examine the impact of environmental regulation on the upgrading of industrial structure by affecting land use efficiency. The results show that formal environmental regulation has a significant positive spatial effect on the rationalization and upgrading of industrial structure, which are 0.1734 and 0.2854 respectively. Informal environmental regulation has a negative spillover effect on neighboring provinces but not significant. Heterogeneous environmental regulation has obvious “double threshold effect” on industrial upgrading by affecting land use efficiency. When the threshold of environmental regulation intensity is 0.0315–0.0886, environmental regulation still inhibits land use efficiency and industrial structure upgrading. When the threshold value is greater than 0.0886, environmental regulation has a positive impact on land use efficiency but not significant. With the intensity of environmental regulation from weak to strong, it will produce a double threshold effect of “strong inhibition-weak inhibition-interaction promotion” on the upgrading of manufacturing structure through the adjustment of land use efficiency.

Dual green innovation capability, environmental regulation intensity, and high-quality economic development in China: Can green and growth go together?

This study explores the interplay between dual green innovation, environmental regulation, and high-quality economic development in China, examining whether these elements can coexist harmoniously. It investigates the dual role of exploitative and exploratory green innovations in fostering sustainable economic growth and how environmental regulations might influence this relationship. Through empirical analysis, the paper assesses the impact of green innovation on high-quality development and the moderating effects of environmental regulations, offering insights into region-specific outcomes and policy implications for sustainable economic strategies.

The impact of environmental regulations on the upgrading of the industrial structure: Evidence from China

China's economy has transitioned into a phase of high-quality development, with enhancing its industrial structure becoming a critical objective. We gathered panel data from 30 major provinces in China from 2010 to 2020 and employed the fixed effects model to assess the actual influence of environmental regulations on industrial structure upgrading. Our empirical findings show that the impacts of various environmental regulations on industrial structure upgrading in China are significantly different. Mandatory environmental regulation demonstrates an inverted U-shaped nonlinear correlation with the upgrading level of the entire industrial structure. When the intensity of this regulation is low, it significantly accelerates industrial structure upgrading. As the intensity of this regulation rises, its effect on industrial structure upgrading is inhibitory. In contrast, induced environmental regulation exhibits a nonlinear U-shaped relationship with industrial structure upgrading and shows a nonlinear change trend of first decreasing and then rising. When the intensity of induced environmental regulation reaches a certain critical point and continues to increase, it will change from a negative influence on the upgrading of the industrial structure to a promoting effect. The further discussion of threshold regression and the robustness test also led to similar conclusions. The above research is conducive to the Chinese government's rational use of environmental regulation tools to promote industrial structure upgrading. It is also beneficial to developing countries, allowing them to learn from China's experience to improve the effectiveness of environmental regulation and boost their industrial development.

Can digital transformation improve corporate green innovation?

ABSTRACT Drawing on legitimacy and resource-based theories, this study uses a sample of A-share listed companies in the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets from 2010 to 2020. Employing advanced big data text recognition techniques, this study delineates the intensity of corporate digital transformation and explores its impact on green innovation in enterprises. The findings reveal a positive relationship between the degree of digital transformation and the level of corporate green innovation. Mediation analysis indicates that digital transformation facilitates a substantial improvement of green innovation within enterprises by increasing media attention and reducing financing costs. Further analysis suggests that the intensity of regional environmental regulations diminishes digital transformation’s positive effects on corporate green innovation. Specifically, the impact of digital transformation on green innovation is more pronounced for enterprises in regions with weaker environmental regulations than in those with stronger regulations. This study contributes to the understanding of the microeconomic implications of corporate digital transformation, enriches the literature on the factors influencing corporate green innovation, provides empirical insights into the economic outcomes of corporate transformation in the digital era, and offers inspiration for the sustainable development of the global economy.

Impact of Environmental Regulation on Export Technological Complexity of High-Tech Industries in Chinese Manufacturing

Since the reform and opening-up, China has developed into the world’s number one manufacturing country. Meanwhile, China’s environmental protection efforts continue to strengthen. So, will changes in the intensity of environmental regulatory policies have an impact on the technological development level and international competitiveness of China’s high-tech manufacturing industries? In response to this issue, we have reviewed relevant research in the field of environmental regulation and export technology complexity, and then selected appropriate indicators to quantify the environmental regulation and export technology complexity of high-tech manufacturing industries in different regions of China. Furthermore, the entropy method was used to calculate the intensity of environmental regulations in different regions of China. In the subsequent empirical analysis, based on relevant indicator data from 30 provinces in China, excluding Tibet, from 2006 to 2021, we quantitatively analyzed the impact of China’s environmental regulations on the complex export technology of high-tech manufacturing industries. The degree of influence and the robustness of the benchmark regression results was proved through endogeneity testing and robustness testing. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) from 2006 to 2021, China’s environmental regulation intensity and the technological complexity of high-tech industry exports have shown an upward trend. (2) The empirical analysis results show that the increase in intensity has a significant “U-shaped” impact on the technological complexity of exports of high-tech manufacturing industries. (3) The “U-shaped” impact of environmental regulation on the technological complexity of exports of high-tech manufacturing industries has regional differences. However, the high-tech manufacturing industry does not show obvious industry differences. (4) Environmental regulations will affect the level of export technology complexity of the high-tech manufacturing industry through foreign direct investment, human capital, and innovative R D investment, which cause indirect effects. Based on those conclusions, this paper has suggested corresponding policy measures and future research directions.

Biased innovation and network evolution: digital driver for green innovation of manufacturing in China

ABSTRACT The study aims to explore the spatial association network characteristics of biased green innovation in the manufacturing sector and its core drivers. This study constructs a Malmquist-Luenberger decomposition index model to identify the input and output biases of green technological innovation (GIIM and GIOM) in the manufacturing industry. This study uses a modified gravity model and social network analysis method to conduct a robust assessment of GIIM spatial association network of 30 provinces in China from 2012 to 2021. The results show: (1) The GIIM association network structure is stable and has good accessibility, with close connections between provinces and blocks, and significant spillover effects between provinces. (2) The regional network shows a “core-periphery” spatial variation, with the core area expanding and the peripheral area shrinking. (3) The digital transformation characteristics of the network components and the intensity of environmental regulation have a significant impact on GIIM.

Who will Spend more Pollution Abatement Costs: does Size Matter?

This paper looks at the relationship between enterprise size and pollution abatement costs using firm-level datasets in China, where size-dependent distortions may exist in the distribution of enterprises of different sizes. We find that the pollution abatement costs decrease with enterprise size. Compared to the smallest size, the magnitudes of marginal decreases in pollution abatement costs per 1000 CNY of industrial output in the largest size are 3.29 CNY, 0.54 CNY and 2.60 CNY for gas, SO2 and dust, respectively. Moreover, we further explore the potential mechanisms for the decrease of pollution abatement costs from three perspectives: environmental protection-related investment, regulation intensity, and technological capability. Our findings suggest that the decrease in the intensity of environmental protection-related investment for large enterprises may be directly reduce the intensity of pollution abatement costs. Although large enterprises have low intensity of pollution abatement costs, this does not mean that they are subject to weaker environmental regulation. More importantly, we find that large enterprises may have more adoption of abatement technologies. For SO2 and dust, the pollutant removal efficiency of the largest enterprises is 4.92% and 1.82% higher than that of the smallest enterprises, respectively. Our results are robust to different specifications. These findings help us enact appropriate policies for enterprises based on their size, thereby improving the efficacy of pollution abatement and achieving the optimal level of pollution abatement for the entire society.

The relationship between environmental regulation and labor force employment

Lucid waters and green mountains are gold and silver mountains, and employment is the foundation of people's livelihood. Protecting the environment and promoting the employment are the important subjects of China's economic and social development. Based on the theoretical and empirical evidence, this paper finds through the provincial panel data from 2010 to 2019 that environmental regulation generally promotes employment by affecting GDP, but environmental regulation in northeast China has a negative effect on employment. Therefore, China should find the balance between the intensity of environmental regulation and economic growth, so as to protect the environment and improve people's livelihood.

The heterogeneous impact of green public procurement on corporate green innovation

Effectively strengthening support for corporate green innovation and promoting green transformation has become the key to promoting coordinated economic and social development in China. As a demand-oriented innovation incentive policy, green public procurement is vital for promoting green innovation. Data from A-share listed firms (2013–2019) are analyzed to explore the impact of green public procurement on corporate green innovation including the heterogeneous effects under different environmental regulation intensity levels. The results show that green public procurement significantly promotes corporate green innovation, especially in areas with strong environmental regulation. Heterogeneity analyses at the firm, industry, and regional levels show that the promotion effect of green public procurement on corporate green innovation is more significant for non-state-owned, small-scale, and ISO 14001-certified enterprises; technology-intensive industries, and enterprises in eastern China and regions with high financial development levels. This study has implications for improving the effectiveness and accuracy of green public procurement policies.

Faking for fortune: Emissions trading schemes and corporate greenwashing in China

Market-based environmental regulations are pivotal in facilitating the reduction of emissions. This paper employs a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) strategy to investigate the impact of Emissions Trading Schemes (ETS) on corporate greenwashing behavior. The findings suggest that ETS act as a catalyst for corporate greenwashing by intensifying financial distress, as demonstrated that the effect is notably more substantial among firms with heightened financing constraints and greater performance volatility. Further analysis reveals that corporate greenwashing behavior induced by ETS is more pronounced where market competition is higher, firms are smaller, R&D investment is lower, or intensity of environmental regulation is lower. This paper provides valuable insights for understanding the comprehensive picture of ETS.