财政分权、环境规制与生态效率——基于中国省级数据的实证研究

Fiscal decentralization,Environmental Regulation and Ecological Efficiency--An Empirical Study Based on Provincial Data in China

环境规制是影响生态效率的关键,中国式财政分权体制是影响地方政府环境规制政策的重要因素。文章利用2003—2021年我国30个省份数据,构建静态面板、动态面板模型实证检验财政分权、环境规制和生态效率的关系。研究发现:财政分权显著抑制了区域生态效率的提升,且该结论通过替换解释变量、替换模型、改变样本容量等一系列稳健性检验后依然成立;异质性分析表明,财政分权对区域生态效率的影响具有地区与时期异质性。财政分权对东部地区和中部地区生态效率的抑制作用更为明显,2013年政绩考核体系调整之前,财政分权显著抑制了地区生态效率提升,随着中央调整地方绩效考核机制,财政分权显著促进了地区生态效率提升;机制分析表明,环境规制在财政分权和区域生态效率中发挥中介作用,命令强制型环境规制和治理型环境规制对区域生态效率都具有正向影响,但治理投入型环境规制的作用效果优于命令强制型环境规制。基于上述实证研究,文章提出构建财权事权匹配的分权制度,加强中央的政绩考核机制,强化环境规制,注重不同类型政策的配合使用。

Environmental regulation is vital for ecological efficiency,and the Chinese-style fiscal decentralization system is an important factor affecting the environmental regulation policies of local governments.Based on the data of 30 provinces in China from 2003 to 2021,this paper constructs the static panel and dynamic panel models to empirically test the relationship among fiscal decentralization,environmental regulation,and ecological efficiency.The study shows that:Fiscal decentralization significantly inhibits the improvement of regional ecological efficiency,and this conclusion remains valid through a series of robustness tests including replacement of explanatory variables,replacement of models,and change of sample size.Heterogeneity analysis shows that the impact of fiscal decentralization on regional ecological efficiency is heterogeneous in region and time.Fiscal decentralization has a more obvious inhibitory effect on ecological efficiency in eastern and central regions of China.Before the adjustment of the evaluating system of cadre performance in 2013,fiscal decentralization significantly inhibited the improvement of regional ecological efficiency,and with the adjustment of the local evaluating system by the central government,fiscal decentralization prominently promoted the improvement of regional ecological efficiency.Mechanism analysis shows that environmental regulation plays an intermediary role in fiscal decentralization and regional ecological efficiency,and both command-based environmental regulation and governance-based environmental regulation have a positive influence on regional eco-efficiency,while governance-based environmental regulation is superior to that of command-based environmental regulation.Based on the above empirical research,the paper proposes to construct a decentralization system with financial power and administrative power mutually matching,strengthen the mechanism of performance evaluation by central government as well as the environmental regulations,and emphasize the coordinated application of different types of policies.