The Impact of Central Environmental Inspections on the Perception of Respect for Human Rights and Its Empirical Analysis

To develop China’s human rights cause with a people-centered approach,we should pay close attention to the concrete experiences of the general public regarding the protection of human rights.Deepening the research on the perception of respect for human rights can contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the practical achievements of the hu man rights cause.Public environmental rights,as a new type of human rights,have become an important aspect of the development of the human rights cause in the new era.The central envi ronmental inspection,as an authoritative and interventionist vertical governance mechanism,promotes the implementation of environmental policies by local Party committees and govern ments and strengthens environmental information disclosure and public participation in environ mental matters.As a result,it contributes to the realization of public environmental rights and stimulates public perception of respect for human rights.Among them,the“look-back inspec tion is an important component of the central environmental inspection,and its implemen tation consolidates and enhances the previous inspection work.An empirical analysis based on the World Values Survey’s data for China indicates that residents in the provinces that have underg one“look-back inspections are more inclined to believe that human rights are adequately re spected compared to residents in the provinces that have not underwent such inspections.It suggests that the advancement and improvement of the central environmental inspection system promote improvements in ecological environment quality and contribute to enhancing the public percep tion of respect for human rights.

Does Chinese Environmental Policy Affect Income Inequality? Evidence from the Central Environmental Protection Inspection

This paper investigates the effect of environmental policy on income inequality.It focuses on the central environmental protection inspection led by the central government in China.Using a diference-in-diferences approach,it finds evidence that environmental regulation decreased the per capita income and enlarged the gap between urban and rural income while showing an insignificant effect on employment.Although the policy can reduce pollution levels and bring environmental benefits in aggregate,the findings of this study suggest that the regulations appear to have reduced the proportion of manufacturing industry and hindered general innovation and investment from entrepreneurs,which resulted in greater inequality.Rural residents suffered more from environmental regulation due to relatively high migration costs and their disadvantaged human resources on the aspects of health,education level,and skills.The local government's execution incentive can also play a key role in the effectiveness of environmental policy.Regions with lower GDP growth targets and younger government leaders were affected significantly with regard to the income growth of local residents and the urban-rural income gap.