Environmental improvement or industry enhancement?A case study on the impact of environmental regulations on Chinese automobile industry

Developing countries are encouraged to pursue environmental protection and industrial development simultaneously,although it is a big challenge to reach win-win situation.This study explored the relationshipbetween environmental regulations and the industry enhancement in developing countries through conducting an empirical analysis of the impact of environmental regulationson Chinese automobile industry.In the empirical analysis,a total of64Chinese automobile enterprises were investigated,the Malmquist index of total factor productivity was adopted to determine the productivity of Chinese automobiles,and the two-step system Generalised Method of Moments(GMM)estimation was used for the regressionanalysis.The resultsshowedthat environmental regulations negatively affected the productivity and technology of Chinese automobile industry during 2004-2018.The production costof automobile industry in China was rising sharply,and the productivity and technological progress of Chinese automobile industry were impeded significantly.The case of Chinese automobile industry illustrated that strict environmental requirements can negatively impact industry productivity by increasing production costs and squeezing industry profits.

Impact of environmental regulations on the efficient control of industrial pollution in China

The continuous progress of industrialization is a fundamental cause of China’s increasingly severe environmental pollution problem.Improving the efficiency of industrial pollution control is an inevitable choice to effectively decrease pollution emissions,thus winning the battle of pollution prevention and control.In this paper,we used the stochastic frontier analysis(SFA)model to measure the provincial efficiency of industrial pollution control based on the input and output data of industrial pollution control of 29 administrative provinces in China from 2000 to 2017.On this basis,a spatial econometric model was used to explore the influence of environmental regulation intensity on the efficiency of industrial pollution control.In addition,the spatial spillover effect of pollution reduction was thoroughly examined.The results show that:(1)The efficiency of industrial pollution control in China has improved year by year,but the overall efficiency is still low,with the average value increasing from 0.165 in 2000 to 0.309 in 2017.Furthermore,there is significant regional heterogeneity with the highest efficiency level in the east and lowest efficiency level in the west.(2)By increasing the financial and material input,the efficiency of industrial pollution control has increased.However,the increase of human input has not been so helpful.(3)The global Moran’s I index is significantly greater than zero,indicating a strong spatial correlation and agglomeration in the efficiency of industrial pollution control,which is reflected in high-high agglomeration in the eastern region and low-low agglomeration in the western region.(4)Stringent environmental regulation has a positive effect on improving the efficiency of industrial pollution control.It also imposes a positive spatial spillover effect,indicating a strategic interaction and coordination of regional pollution control.In line with this,related proposals have been made to optimize the investment structure for environmental pollution control,establish a flow mechanism for the factor market,and strengthen the environmental responsibility awareness of state-owned enterprises.On this basis,we expect to provide a policy for improving the efficiency of industrial pollution control and promoting regional joint pollution control in China.

How Does Environmental Regulation Affect Carbon Emissions? —Evidence from China

In this paper, the increment of CO2 emissions from 285 prefecture-level cities in China from 2004 to 2013 is decomposed into scale effect, composition effect and technique effect. Based on the decomposition results, the effects of different environmental regulation on carbon emission increment and its decomposition effect were studied by using multiple regression methods. The results show that carbon emission environmental regulation, sulfur dioxide emission environmental regulation and electricity prices also significantly reduce the city’s carbon emissions, in which carbon emission reduction environmental regulation has the best effect, followed by sulfur dioxide emission reduction environmental regulation. Different environmental regulations do not significantly reduce urban carbon emissions in terms of composition effects, and even increase carbon emissions of cities. In addition, the impacts of different environmental regulations on the cities in the two control zones and the non-control zone were studied. Compared with non-control zone cities, environmental regulations for carbon emission and SO2 have a better effect on carbon emission reduction in cities of two control zones.

Impacts of Market-based Environmental Regulation on Green Total Factor Energy Efficiency in China

This study employed a difference-in-differences design to assess the effect of marketbased environmental regulation on green total factor energy efficiency(GTFEE)in a quasi-natural experiment that investigated China's carbon emissions trading scheme(ETS).The empirical results show that ETS had a positive effect on GTFEE.A series of robustness tests revealed that the results were robust.Potential mechanisms through which ETS can improve GTFEE include the promotion of technological innovation and the upgrading of industrial structure.The positive effects varied in different cities and diferent regions-the result was pronounced in eastern China and developed cities,but it was insignificant in central and western areas and developing cities.This study confirms the satisfactory performance of China's ETS in improving GTFEE,and this is relevant for other emerging countries.

Environmental regulation,hidden economy,and China's outward foreign direct investment

The need to balance economic growth and its environmental impact continues to be a serious issue in China.As environmental regulation in China increases in importance,it is critical to understand how it impacts economic growth drivers such as outward foreign direct investment(OFDI)to formulate effective policies.One consideration should be the hidden economy,which can weaken the effects of environmental regulation on OFDI.This study investigates the scale of the hidden economy in 30 provinces and province-level municipalities in China in the period 2004 to 2015.The study uses the multiple indicators and multiple causes(MIMIC)model and the systematic generalized method of moments(GMM)test to analyze the impact of environmental regulation and the hidden economy on China's OFDI.The results show that stronger environmental regulation promotes OFDI.However,the hidden economy inhibits China's OFDI,as the positive effects of environmental regulation that drive OFDI are distorted.From a regional perspective,stronger environmental regulation promotes OFDI as well,while the hidden economy inhibits it.The interaction between environmental regulation and the hidden economy also inhibits it significantly.

Environmental regulation and firms'performance:a quasi-natural experiment from China

This paper investigates whether environmental regulation affects firm's performance including productivity,wage and employment using firm-level data in 1996-2007.The identification uses Two Control Zones(TCZ)policy implemented by the Chinese government in 1998,in which tougher environmental regulations were imposed in TCZ cities but not others.By difference-indifferences estimation,we find that tougher environmental regulation leads to larger increase on both total factor productivity and wage,and firms tend to employ fewer workers under pressure of environmental protection.Heterogeneous tests show that the impacts are better for nonpollution intensive firms,non-exporters and SOEs.Finally,we find that R&D input and exiting firms among industry are the driving forces for enhancing TFP and increasing wage and unemployment.

Two-sided and Heterogeneous Effects of Environmental Regulation on the Technological Innovation Efficiency of Iron and Steel Enterprises in China

In this study,the relationship between environmental regulations and technological innovation efficiencyis empirically examined via panel data from 33 iron and steel enterprises(ISs)in China between 2015 and 2021.The results show that the average“innovation compensation effect”of environmental regulations on the technological innovation efficiency of ISs exceeds the average“compliance cost effect”,thus resulting in a clearly positivenet effect.Both the two-sided effects and the net effects vary across different years,geographical regions,andtypes of property rights.As the quantile of technological innovation efficiency increases,the positive influence ofenvironmental regulations tends to increase.Furthermore,the strengthening of financing constraints and firmcompetitiveness enhances the positive impact of environmental regulations on the technological innovation efficiency of ISs.Additionally,a double-threshold effect of environmental regulations on the technological innovationefficiency of ISs is revealed in this study.The realisation of the Porter hypothesis occurs when financing constraintsand firm competitiveness fall within specific threshold intervals.This research not only deepens our understandingof the relationship between environmental regulations and the technological innovation efficiency of ISs but alsoprovides valuable policy insights for optimising environmental regulations to facilitate targeted improvements in thelevel of technological innovation efficiency.

Benchmarking of energy efficiency standards for residential buildings in China

In order to benchmark the energy efficiency standards for residential buildings in China,the Hong Kong building environment assessment method（HK-BEAM）is chosen as the compliance criteria for assessment.The annual energy consumption and the overall thermal transfer value（OTTV）of a baseline residential building prescribed in the Chinese codes and the HK-BEAM are evaluated and compared by the energy budget approach.The results show that in the Chinese codes,the OTTV of the residential building is lower,but the annual energy consumption and the cooling load are higher than those in the HK-BEAM.The annual energy use difference amounts to 13.4%.All the compliance criteria except the ventilation rate and the equipment power in the Chinese codes are set higher than those in the HK-BEAM.However,the compliance criteria of the ventilation rate and the equipment power,especially the ventilation rate,result in much energy consumption,which ultimately induces a high energy budget for residential buildings.

数字经济发展减少了环境污染吗?——兼议环境规制的调节效应与门槛效应

数字化和绿色化是中国现阶段经济转型升级的主要战略和目标,数字经济的发展能否带来生态环境的改善是实现中国经济可持续发展的关键。基于2013—2020年中国30个省份的面板数据,运用熵权法构建数字经济发展指数和环境污染指数,实证检验了二者之间的关系以及着力探讨了环境规制在二者间的调节和门槛效应。研究表明:数字经济发展水平与环境污染之间存在倒“U”型关系,数字经济的发展会先加剧后减少环境污染;环境规制在数字经济对环境污染的影响中发挥了调节作用,当数字经济发展水平较低时,环境规制强化了数字经济对环境污染的负向作用,而当数字经济发展水平较高时,环境规制则会强化数字经济的污染减排作用;门槛效应检验结果显示,当前随着环境规制水平的提高,数字经济的环境污染效应更加严重;数字经济发展水平与环境污染的关系存在空间异质性。研究结论为数字经济发展、环境规制强度设置等方面提供了政策启示。

Language Environment Setting Through Our Foreign Currency Activities to Improve Chinese-Majoring Learners’ Competency

Language education centers primarily on fostering linguistic skills and language communication skills for students. In the process of teaching Chinese language, it is in the classroom that is the place tofoster student’s linguistic competence and language communication capacity. Therefore, classroom teaching becomes the main place tofoster the language ability and language communication capacity for students while the extracurricular activities are the place for students to apply the knowledge they have learned in the classroom in to the real world. Conducting a survey to investigate extracurricular activities for Chinese language majors at Thai Nguyen University, School of Foreign Languages, the paper proposes solutions to improve the effectiveness of extracurricular activities for students and create excitement for students in learning.

市场激励型环境规制与区域绿色创新效率——基于产业结构优化的中介作用和财政分权的调节作用

市场激励型环境规制是解决环境治理负外部性、推进区域绿色创新效率的重要途径。以2005~2020年省级面板数据为研究对象,采用系统广义矩模型(GMM)法检验市场激励型环境规制对区域绿色创新效率的影响效应及作用机理。结果表明:市场激励型环境规制能够显著促进区域绿色创新效率的提升;从影响机制来看,市场激励型环境规制可以通过促进产业结构合理化和产业结构高级化显著促进区域绿色创新效率的提升。此外,有效的财政分权环境能够正向调节市场激励型环境规制与区域绿色创新效率的关系。

绿色金融、产业结构升级与海洋经济高质量发展——基于环境规制调节的中介模型

绿色金融是促进“双碳”目标实现和提升海洋经济高质量发展水平的重要抓手。论文基于2009—2019年我国11个沿海省市的面板数据,运用中介模型考察了绿色金融对海洋经济高质量发展的影响及其传导路径。在此基础上构建有调节的中介效应模型,基于产业结构高级化和合理化的中介路径与环境规制的调节效应探究绿色金融对海洋经济高质量发展的路径机制。研究发现:首先,绿色金融显著促进海洋经济高质量发展,产业结构高级化和合理化均存在正向中介效应;其次,环境规制正向调节绿色金融发展对产业结构升级的积极影响,同时强化产业结构升级对海洋经济高质量发展的促进作用,且在绿色金融对海洋经济高质量发展的直接效应中起到显著正向调节作用。

数字经济对环境污染的影响及作用机制研究

环境污染是人类面临的重要威胁之一,数字经济有望成为抑制环境污染的新抓手。基于大数据试验区准自然实验,选取中国278个地级市2012—2021年面板数据,采用双重差分模型分析数字经济对环境污染的影响及作用机制。研究发现,数字经济能够显著抑制城市环境污染。该结论经过平行趋势检验、PSM-DID检验、安慰剂检验及排除同期相关政策影响后依然成立。作用机制检验发现,数字经济可通过加强环境规制和提升实质性技术创新两条传导路径抑制环境污染,而策略性技术创新传导路径未获数据支持。异质性分析表明,与基础设施统筹发展试验区相比,跨区域试验区和区域示范试验区所体现的数字经济环境污染抑制效应更强;沿海城市以及数字普惠金融水平较高的城市数字经济对环境污染的抑制效应更强。

中国数字经济发展对碳排放的影响

基于扩展的Cobb-Douglas生产函数,利用中国城市面板数据解析数字经济发展对碳排放的影响。结果表明,数字经济发展能够显著降低碳排放水平,且该结果在经过一系列稳健性检验后仍然成立。就其作用机制而言,数字经济能够通过强化环境规制、提升人力资本水平和促进产业集聚的方式降低碳排放。进一步考虑数字经济减排效应的空间关联特征后发现,数字经济发展不仅可以促进本地区碳减排,还有助于降低邻近地区的碳排放。异质性检验表明,在中心城市和高创新能力城市数字经济发展显著降低了碳排放,但在外围城市数字经济的碳减排效应不显著,在低创新能力城市数字经济发展显著增加了碳排放;东部和中西部地区城市数字经济发展均显著降低了碳排放,且碳减排效应从中西部地区到东部地区呈递减趋势。据此提出大力支持中国数字经济发展,促进产业集聚、做好环境规制和提升人力资本水平,为数字经济发展降低碳排放提供畅通渠道,推进本地区和邻近地区协同碳减排等政策建议。

数字经济对我国碳中和能力的影响研究

数字经济是一种以数字技术为核心驱动力的新型经济形态,蕴含着绿色低碳效应,能够促进社会向资源节约型和环境友好型发展。文章采用2013—2021年中国30个省份面板数据,探究数字经济对碳中和能力的影响效应。研究发现:数字经济对碳中和能力具有促进作用且呈现非线性特征,对碳减排能力具有先促进后抑制作用,对碳移除能力具有促进作用;我国东西部地区影响异质性的原因是碳减排能力与碳移除能力的水平差异;数字经济能够助力各社会主体,通过促进企业技术创新、公众绿色消费以及调节政府环境规制增强碳中和能力,其中绿色消费机制不可持续;各社会主体协同关系对碳中和能力影响不显著。

数字经济促进城市绿色发展的碳排放效应与影响因素研究

本文基于2010~2021年我国284个地级市面板数据,采用超效率SBM模型等方法,研究数字经济对城市绿色发展的碳排放效率及其影响机制。研究结果显示,数字经济发展有助于提升城市的碳排放效率。其中,财政支出绩效和环境规制强度起到中介作用;数字经济在经济发展速度和人力资本水平的调节下,更显著地促进城市的碳排放效率;同时,数字经济对城市碳排放效率的影响存在明显的异质性。因此,本文提出了加强数字经济发展与碳排放效率协同增长、优化政府财政支出、加快数字城市建设等建议。

环境规制与绿色全要素生产率:促进还是抑制?

在“双碳”背景下通过制定环境规制政策提高绿色全要素生产率,推动经济绿色发展具有现实意义。以2000—2020年我国30个省级行政区的面板数据为基础,构建超效率(SBM—GML)模型阐释环境规制与绿色全要素生产率之间的内在逻辑,在分别控制时间和地区的双固定效应和面板分位数回归模型(PQRM)的基础上得出以下结论:(1)环境规制对绿色全要素生产率的作用效果是先抑制后促进;(2)由于经济发展水平的区域性差异,环境规制对高端分位点省级行政区的绿色全要素生产率的促进程度远小于低端分位点省级行政区;(3)技术进步是我国东、中、西和东北等地区绿色全要素生产率提高的关键因素,全域技术效率尤其是规模效率是阻碍绿色全要素生产率提升的关键因素。因此,地方政府首先要结合当地资源禀赋及自然环境承受能力,完善环境规制政策,缩小区际差异;其次要加强基础性研究,破除技术垄断,优化生产流程,提升规模经济,提高绿色全要素生产率。

中国全球价值链地位、环境规制与碳排放绩效

努力实现全球价值链地位攀升与低碳经济发展双目标是中国面临的关键问题。基于2000-2014年中国制造业行业数据,考察全球价值链地位攀升对碳排放绩效的影响与作用机制,可发现:全球价值链地位攀升有助于碳排放绩效改善,其赋能效应在不同类型、技术水平以及污染密集度的行业中存在差异性;能源利用效率与能源消费结构是全球价值链地位作用于碳排放绩效的主要路径,同时环境规制强度的提高可以进一步增强其对碳排放绩效改善的正向作用。我国制造业应全方位、多层次融入全球价值链体系,深化链条间行业的上下游合作,推动制造业内部的能源技术溢出效应转换,对不同行业进行差异化政策支持,同时地方政府也应加强适时监督,规制行业的短视行为。

Reconciling Industry and Environment： Optimal Regulation Intensity for Industries

Constrained by the dual mission of supporting industrial growth and reducing emissions, China＇s traditional emission reduction-oriented environmental policies unavoidably face a dilemma. Taking environmental efficiency as the exclusive indicator for the relationship between environmental performance and industrial development, the author calculated the environmental efficiency of China＇s industries under different pollutant disposability assumptions, while also considering environmental pollution. In addition, based on the assumption of industry heterogeneity, the author examined the non-linear relationship between China＇s environmental regulation and environmental efficiency and calculated the optimal regulation environment for industries. According to this study, when impact of undesirable outputs （pollutant emissions） is considered, environmental regulation and environmental efficiency are positively correlated, which to some degree validates the Porter Hypothesis. At present, environmental regulation has significant positive effects on clean production industries but shows a lag effect on pollution-intensive industries. The degree of environmental regulation and environmental efficiency show an ＂inverted U＂shaped relation and display three thresholds. It should be noted, however, that the relationship between regulation and efficiency may vary across industries. These findings have clear policy implications： China should adjust its traditional emission reduction-oriented environmental polices by targeting environmental efficiency. At the same time, rather than continually increasing the level of environmental regulation, the government should establish standards for individual industries that emphasize flexibility.

数字经济、环境规制与可持续发展耦合协调度时空分异及影响因素研究

数字经济和环境规制是可持续发展的重要驱动因素,探讨三者的耦合关系对促进区域经济、社会和环境协调发展具有重要意义。通过对2011—2020年我国30个省份的数字经济、环境规制与可持续发展水平进行测算,构建耦合协调度模型识别三者耦合协调发展的时空分异特征,并引入时空地理加权回归模型(GTWR)探究耦合协调度的影响因素。研究结果表明:(1)数字经济、环境规制与可持续发展水平呈现波动增长趋势,其中环境规制综合水平最高;(2)三者耦合协调度存在时空差异,时间层面上全国耦合协调度位于中等和良好协调之间,总体呈现“W”型上升态势,空间层面上“链条式”和“组团式”特征明显,呈现“马太效应”;(3)耦合协调度存在显著的空间自相关性,局部上表现为“高—高”“低—低”集聚模式;(4)产业结构、政府能力和国际贸易是耦合协调度提升的主要因素,研发资金、人口压力成为抑制因素。