排污费征收标准改革是否促进了中国工业二氧化硫减排

Does China's Pollution Levy Standards Reform Promote Emissions Reduction?

利用中国2007-2014年各省二氧化硫(SO_2)排污费征收标准调整这一准自然实验,本文采用倍差法和三重差分法检验了中国排污收费政策的治污效果。研究发现,中国排污收费政策虽然因征收标准偏低、内生执法等问题而广受质疑,但仍具有非常显著的减排效果。提高排污费征收标准能够显著降低单位工业产出污染物的排放,空气中SO_2浓度也相对降低。此次排污费征收标准调整并未引起污染转移效应,相应污染企业选择治理污染而不是逃避环境监管。进一步的影响机制分析检验发现,此次排污费征收标准调整不仅促使企业加强了污染末端治理,也激励企业加强前端预防的管控手段,在降低单位工业产出煤炭使用的同时,相应企业的生产工艺也得到了显著改善。

Using the quasi-natural experiment that adjusts the levy standards of sulphur dioxide emissions in different Chinese provinces between 2007 and 2014,this paper examines the effect that the policy of such a levy change exerts on pollution control by adopting the difference in differences(DID)and difference in difference in differences(DDD)techniques.Although the control effect of the pollution levy policy in China is a widely debated issue due to its low standard and an"endogenous enforcement of the law",we find that the increase in pollution charges significantly reinforces the pollution control effects and reduces pollutant emissions per unit of industrial production.Moreover,not only do we find that the adjustment of levy standards has not caused a pollution transfer effect,but also that the corresponding polluting enterprises have opted to control their polluting levels instead of evading environmental monitoring.Through further analysis and testing of the influence mechanism,we find that the adjustment in the levy standards not only urges companies to strengthen the end-of-pipe abatement management,but also significantly encourages them to enhance their front-end prevention capabilities.While the reduction in the use of coal per unit of industrial production has been relatively greater,the productive process of the corresponding enterprises has also been improving significantly.