Efficiency evaluation of government investment for air pollution control in city clusters:A case from the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei areas in China

Air pollution poses a significant threat to human health,particularly in urban areas with high levels of industrial activities.In China,the government plays a crucial role in managing air quality through the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan.The government provides direct financial support and guides the investment direction of social funds to improve air quality.While government investment has led to improvements in air quality across China,concerns remain regarding the efficiency of such large-scale investments.To address this concern,we conducted a study using a three-stage data envelopment analysis(DEA)-Malmquist model to assess the efficiency of government investment in improving air quality in China.Our analysis revealed regional disparities and annual dynamic changes.Specifically,we focused on the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei areas as a case study,as the investment primarily targeted industrial activities in urban areas with the goal of improving living conditions for urban residents.The results demonstrate significant differences in investment efficiency between regions.Beijing exhibits relatively high investment efficiency,while cities in Hebei Province require improvement.We identified scale inefficiency,which refers to the ratio of air pollutant reduction to financial investment,as the main factor contributing to regional disparities.However,we found that increasing the total investment scale can help mitigate this effect.Furthermore,our study observed positive but fluctuating annual changes in investment efficiency within this city cluster from 2014 to 2018.Investment-combined technical efficiency,which represents the investment strategy,is the main obstacle to improving yearly investment efficiency.Therefore,in addition to promoting investment strategies at the individual city level,it is crucial to enhance coordination and cooperation among cities to improve the investment efficiency of the entire city cluster.Evaluating the efficiency of government investment and understanding its influencing factors can guide future investment measures and directions.This knowledge can also support policymaking for other projects involving substantial investments.

Analysis on the Effect of Government Investment on Private Investment in Western China——Take Province A as an Example

Since China began reforming and opening up its economy,and especially since the launch of development projects in western China,province A has attracted an increasing amount of investment,which is the main driving force for provincial economic growth.Hence,this study uses a state space model to examine how government investment has affected economic growth in province A in western China,and explains whether there is a crowding-in effect or a crowding-out effect of local government investment on private investment.The findings indicate that both government and private investments have a positive,stimulating influence on economic growth in province A,with the latter being more impactful than the former.Productive and non-productive investments have different effects on province A’s economic growth.From the perspective of the trajectory of government investment elasticity,the elasticity of government and private investments in province A presents a very large spatio-temporal change.That is,from 1994 to 2009,government investment in province A had a crowding-in effect on private investment,but from 2010 to 2017,a crowding-out effect was observed.

Research on the Determinants of Government Investment Effect

Government investment plays an important role in promoting and guiding the economic and social development in China.Xinjiang is the core province of the Belt and Road and its economic growth is mainly driven by investment.This paper decomposes the determinants of government investment effect into economic structure change,technological change and investment structure change,using the non-competitive input-output table of Xinjiang province in 2007,2012 and 2015 and structural decomposition analyses.The results show that,the government investment effect in Xinjiang shows a slight decline trend.During the period,the change of economic structure and investment structure have the negative impact on government investment effect,while the change of technology has the positive impact on government investment effect.In addition,these impacts have strong sectoral heterogeneity.

China’s Government Investment Funds:Evolution,Risks and Reform Measures

In the context of guarding against financial risks and deleveraging,government investment funds supplement the traditional government debt financing by market-based equity financing,which is regarded as the profound change of the government’s financial management idea and mode.In reality,the practice of China’s government investment funds is still in the stage of“learning by doing”.The diversification of the target,the lack of supervisory experience,the imperfect information disclosure and evaluation mechanism,and the shortage of professional talents pose a challenge to the government’s future risk control and the regulation of government behavior.This paper summarizes the path and trend of the development of government investment funds and the possible risks,and on the basis of international experience,puts forward the measures and suggestions for further standardizing the management of government investment funds and deepening the reform of government investment and financing system.

Government Investment and High-Quality Economic Development——Measurement and Analysis Based on Input-Output Method

Analysis of how government investment promotes economic development and employment is important for improving government’s decision-making and promoting high-quality economic development in western China.In this paper,the authors take Xinjiang as an example to conduct such an analysis.Firstly,based on the competitive input-output table of Xinjiang,the non-competitive input-output tables of 2007,2012 and 2015 are compiled in this paper.Secondly,the contribution of Xinjiang government investment,especially the major government investment projects,to the valueadded of Xinjiang,other provinces and cities in China and abroad are calculated.Thirdly,this paper uses the non-competitive input-output table to compile the sectoral employment vector,and uses the input-occupancy-output technique to measure how government investment promotes employment.The results show that Xinjiang government investment contributes the most to the value-added of Xinjiang and other provinces and cities,but less to foreign countries;the government investment create the most job opportunities in projects including transportation projects and livelihood projects etc.

The Chinese Government Increases S&T Investment

The Chinese government has made great efforts to increase investment in science, technology and education, Vice Premier Li Lanqing told the country’s top legislators on August 24. A total of 146 billion yuan (about US$17.6 billion) was raised nationwide for science and technology in 1999, representing an increase of 12.5% over the previous year, among which funds for research and development

Analysis of the Pull Effect of Local Government Special-Purpose Bond Investment on Economic Growth Under the Input-Output Framework

In this paper,we discuss the development process of local government special bonds,and the role channels of local government special debt investment in driving China’s economic growth.Based on the specific decomposition of Xinjiang local government special bond investment,this paper uses the non-competitive input-output model for the first time to analyze the net pulling effect of Xinjiang local government special bond investment on Xinjiang’s GDP and employment in 2020.Two measure calibers are set in this paper based on whether the financing costs are considered or not;in addition,we set up four scenarios based on two conditions:Whether to consider retained fun and whether to consider using special-purpose bond investment to leverage social capital.The results show that:1)when financing costs are not considered,the RMB77.4 billion local government special-purpose bonds can push the GDP of Xinjiang to grow by RMB42.27 billion,RMB35.12 billion,RMB77.548billion and RMB69.34 billion respectively under the four scenarios;2)when financing costs are not considered,the number of jobs driven by the RMB77.4 billion local government special-purpose bonds was respectively 372,300,324,500,718,500 and 601,300 in the four scenarios;3)when financing costs are considered,the RMB77.4 billion local government special-purpose bonds can push the GDP of Xinjiang to grow by RMB71.876 billion and RMB64.268 billion under scenario 3)and scenario 4).

A Study of Chinese Government’s Policies in Industrial Pollution Mitigation

China＇s rapid economic growth poses serious concerns over environmental degradation, especially in the context of higher pollution levels resulting from unprecedented industrial activity. It is commonly held that government policies are effective in the form of investment in pollution control and the imposition of a discharge fee on industrial units for the purpose of safety of environmental quality. In this study, we find that government policies do not prove to be successful in controlling air pollution in comparison to water pollution. Furthermore, air pollution is increasing, while water pollution is following a stable, decreasing curve. Hence, some reforms need to be implemented in government policies, particularly those concerning the effectiveness of investment in environmental protection and improving managerial skills in industry.

“Three essential elements”of the primary health care system:A comparison between California in the US and Guangdong in China

The primary health care system(PHCS)is the portal and basis for the national health delivery system.There are a number of elements which comprise the PHCS,but the system cannot be established and developed without the support of“three essential elements,”including general practitioners(GPs),health insurance,and government health investment.Through comparative analysis of the“three essential elements”of the PHCS between California in the US and Guangdong in China,this article indicates that there are three important aspects in developing a PHCS in China,as follows:training qualified GPs;establishing a diversified health insurance system to strengthen the policy connections between health insurance and the PHCS thereby increasing government health investment;and broadening health financing channels.