从意愿到行动:中国地方环保局的机构能力研究

Translating Regulatory Promise into Environmental Progress: Institutional Capacity and Environmental Regulation in China

越来越多的研究将中国的环境问题归因于执法不严.但是,很少有人探索环保机构能力和环境管制以及执法之间的关系.在前人对国家能力研究的基础上,发展了一套指标体系对中国地方环保局的机构能力进行评价,并分析了环保机构能力和污染物减排之间的关系.研究表明:具有较好人力资本(而不是预算更多)的地方环保局能够更好地从事环境监管工作,地方环保局的机构能力提升对污染物减排产生显著正面效果;另外,严格的环境监管却不一定会改善环境状况.那些工业治理环境能力强的地区通常工业较发达,污染物排放量大,抵消了环保局监管执法所产生的正面收益.由此可见,要缩小环境法律法规规定的目标和环境现状之间的差距,仅靠监管手段创新和增强地方环保局的机构能力是不够的,中国还需要努力开展全社会监管环境的制度建设.

A growing body of research attributes China＇ s environmental problems to weak regulatory enforcement. Few studies, however, have explored the relationship between institutional capacity and regulatory enforcement. In this article, the authors draw upon the literature on state capacity and institutional analysis to fill this void. The article reveals that local environmental protection bureaus with greater human capitalthough not necessarily greater financial resources-enforce regulations more rigorously. The article also shows that these efforts do not necessarily lead to cleaner air or water. Regions with industries that have a greater capacity to abate pollution tend to pollute more, offsetting the potentially beneficial effects of stronger regulatory enforcement. The authors therefore conclude that it may take more than just innovative regulations to translate regulatory promise into environmental progress.