IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/chieco/v85y2024ics1043951x24000683.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Clean heating and clean air: Evidence from the coal-to-gas program in China

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Haijian
  • Zhou, Shaojie
  • Zhang, Penglong

Abstract

Environmental degradation, especially air pollution, has been a prevalent problem in China in recent decades. Rather than focus on traditional regulatory policies aimed at enterprises engaged in production activities, this paper studies the effects of the clean heating policy targeting residents in China. Taking the coal-to-gas program as a quasi-natural experiment and using a city-level dataset of daily air quality, we study the effects of the clean heating policy implemented in Beijing and its surrounding areas on air quality with the difference-in-differences method. The results show that the clean heating policy significantly reduced air pollution in coal-to-gas cities, bringing improved economic welfare, with stronger effects in Beijing's neighboring cities. We find no evidence suggesting a decreasing policy effect over time. In addition, we find that increasing subsidies can further enhance the policy's effectiveness. We also test the spatial spillover effects of this policy and calculate its geographical boundary. Changing the energy structure in conjunction with regulating residential emissions is crucial to improving air quality.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Haijian & Zhou, Shaojie & Zhang, Penglong, 2024. "Clean heating and clean air: Evidence from the coal-to-gas program in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:85:y:2024:i:c:s1043951x24000683
    DOI: 10.1016/j.chieco.2024.102179
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1043951X24000683
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.chieco.2024.102179?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chen, Anping & Groenewold, Nicolaas, 2018. "The regional effects of macroeconomic shocks in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 139-154.
    2. Koichiro Ito & Shuang Zhang, 2020. "Willingness to Pay for Clean Air: Evidence from Air Purifier Markets in China," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 128(5), pages 1627-1672.
    3. Yushan Hu & Yahua Wang & Penglong Zhang, 2022. "Internet access and irrigation adoption in China," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(3), pages 605-630, March.
    4. Cai, Xiqian & Lu, Yi & Wu, Mingqin & Yu, Linhui, 2016. "Does environmental regulation drive away inbound foreign direct investment? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 73-85.
    5. He, Jie, 2006. "Pollution haven hypothesis and environmental impacts of foreign direct investment: The case of industrial emission of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in Chinese provinces," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 228-245, November.
    6. Reyes, René & Schueftan, Alejandra & Ruiz, Cecilia & González, Alejandro D., 2019. "Controlling air pollution in a context of high energy poverty levels in southern Chile: Clean air but colder houses?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 124(C), pages 301-311.
    7. Wang, Qunwei & Zhou, Bo & Zhang, Cheng & Zhou, Dequn, 2021. "Do energy subsidies reduce fiscal and household non-energy expenditures? A regional heterogeneity assessment on coal-to-gas program in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    8. Hu, Yushan & Zhang, Penglong, 2021. "Semiparametric estimation of varying trade elasticities in gravity," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 209(C).
    9. Blohmke, Julian & Kemp, René & Türkeli, Serdar, 2016. "Disentangling the causal structure behind environmental regulation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 174-190.
    10. Geng, Yong & Liu, Wei & Li, Kai & Chen, Hanshu, 2021. "Environmental regulation and corporate tax avoidance: A quasi-natural experiment based on the eleventh Five-Year Plan in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    11. Arora, Vipin & Cai, Yiyong & Jones, Ayaka, 2016. "The national and international impacts of coal-to-gas switching in the Chinese power sector," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 416-426.
    12. Tom Chang & Joshua Graff Zivin & Tal Gross & Matthew Neidell, 2016. "Particulate Pollution and the Productivity of Pear Packers," American Economic Journal: Economic Policy, American Economic Association, vol. 8(3), pages 141-169, August.
    13. Kim, Man-Keun & Kim, Taehoo, 2016. "Estimating impact of regional greenhouse gas initiative on coal to gas switching using synthetic control methods," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 328-335.
    14. Stephen P. Ryan, 2012. "The Costs of Environmental Regulation in a Concentrated Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 80(3), pages 1019-1061, May.
    15. Luc Anselin, 2001. "Spatial Effects in Econometric Practice in Environmental and Resource Economics," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 83(3), pages 705-710.
    16. Shi, Xinzheng & Xu, Zhufeng, 2018. "Environmental regulation and firm exports: Evidence from the eleventh Five-Year Plan in China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 187-200.
    17. Lee, Soohyung & Yoo, Heesun & Nam, Minhyuk, 2018. "Impact of the Clean Air Act on Air Pollution and Infant Health: Evidence from South Korea," IZA Discussion Papers 11542, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    18. Zhangkai Huang & Lixing Li & Guangrong Ma & Lixin Colin Xu, 2017. "Hayek, Local Information, and Commanding Heights: Decentralizing State-Owned Enterprises in China," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 107(8), pages 2455-2478, August.
    19. Lee, Soohyung & Yoo, Heesun & Nam, Minhyuk, 2018. "Impact of the Clean Air Act on air pollution and infant health: Evidence from South Korea," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 98-101.
    20. Cole, Matthew A. & Elliott, Robert J.R. & Shimamoto, Kenichi, 2005. "Industrial characteristics, environmental regulations and air pollution: an analysis of the UK manufacturing sector," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 121-143, July.
    21. Shi, Beibei & Feng, Chen & Qiu, Meng & Ekeland, Anders, 2018. "Innovation suppression and migration effect: The unintentional consequences of environmental regulation," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 1-23.
    22. Huang, Guobin & Zhang, Jie & Yu, Jian & Shi, Xunpeng, 2020. "Impact of transportation infrastructure on industrial pollution in Chinese cities: A spatial econometric analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    23. Tanaka, Shinsuke, 2015. "Environmental regulations on air pollution in China and their impact on infant mortality," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 90-103.
    24. Avraham Ebenstein & Maoyong Fan & Michael Greenstone & Guojun He & Peng Yin & Maigeng Zhou, 2015. "Growth, Pollution, and Life Expectancy: China from 1991-2012," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(5), pages 226-231, May.
    25. Zhang, Penglong, 2020. "Home-biased gravity: The role of migrant tastes in international trade," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 129(C).
    26. Dasgupta, Susmita & Laplante, Benoit & Mamingi, Nlandu & Wang, Hua, 2001. "Inspections, pollution prices, and environmental performance: evidence from China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 487-498, March.
    27. Fu, Shihe & Gu, Yizhen, 2017. "Highway toll and air pollution: Evidence from Chinese cities," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 32-49.
    28. Jia, Ruining & Shao, Shuai & Yang, Lili, 2021. "High-speed rail and CO2 emissions in urban China: A spatial difference-in-differences approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 99(C).
    29. Yushan Hu & Yahua Wang & Penglong Zhang, 2022. "Internet access and irrigation adoption in China," China Agricultural Economic Review, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 14(3), pages 605-630, March.
    30. Maddison, David, 2006. "Environmental Kuznets curves: A spatial econometric approach," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 51(2), pages 218-230, March.
    31. Zellner, Arnold & Ando, Tomohiro, 2010. "A direct Monte Carlo approach for Bayesian analysis of the seemingly unrelated regression model," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 159(1), pages 33-45, November.
    32. Zeng, Jingjing & Bao, Rui & McFarland, Michael, 2022. "Clean energy substitution: The effect of transitioning from coal to gas on air pollution," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Hongshan Ai & Xiaoqing Tan & Zhen Xia, 2022. "RETRACTED: The Effects of Environmental Regulations on Medical Expenses: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-17, June.
    2. Shenglong Liu & Penglong Zhang, 2022. "Foreign Direct Investment and Air Pollution in China: Evidence from the Global Financial Crisis," The Developing Economies, Institute of Developing Economies, vol. 60(1), pages 30-61, March.
    3. Yue Hua & Yue Lu & Ruili Zhao, 2022. "Global value chain engagement and air pollution: Evidence from Chinese firms," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3), pages 708-727, July.
    4. Chen, Shiyi & Jiang, Lingduo & Liu, Wanlin & Song, Hong, 2022. "Fireworks regulation, air pollution, and public health: Evidence from China," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    5. Chen, Shuai & Oliva, Paulina & Zhang, Peng, 2022. "The effect of air pollution on migration: Evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    6. Wang, Yangjie & Chen, Xiaohong & Ren, Shenggang, 2019. "Clean energy adoption and maternal health: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    7. Liao, Jiaqi & Zhang, Ning, 2024. "Environmental regulation and manufacturing employment: Evidence from China's Eleventh Five-Year Plan," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    8. Wu, Maozhen & Zhang, Penglong, 2024. "Poverty alleviation and pollution reduction: Evidence from the poverty hat removal program in China," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 56-76.
    9. Wang, Linfeng & Shi, Tie & Chen, Hanyi, 2023. "Air pollution and infant mortality: Evidence from China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 49(C).
    10. Fan, Maoyong & Jiang, Hanchen & Zhou, Maigeng, 2023. "Beyond particulate matter: New evidence on the causal effects of air pollution on mortality," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    11. Li, Shuo & Wang, Min, 2022. "Environmental Regulation and Firms’ Extensive Margin Decisions," EfD Discussion Paper 22-15, Environment for Development, University of Gothenburg.
    12. Zhou, Qian & Zhong, Shihu & Shi, Tao & Zhang, Xiaoling, 2021. "Environmental regulation and haze pollution: Neighbor-companion or neighbor-beggar?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 151(C).
    13. Shi, Beibei & Jiang, Lisha & Bao, Rui & Zhang, Ziqing & Kang, YuanQi, 2023. "The impact of insurance on pollution emissions: Evidence from China's environmental pollution liability insurance," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    14. Shihe Fu & V. Brian Viard, 2022. "A mayors perspective on tackling air pollution," Chapters, in: Charles K.Y. Leung (ed.), Handbook of Real Estate and Macroeconomics, chapter 16, pages 413-437, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    15. Zhou, Peng & Song, Frank M. & Huang, Xiaoqi, 2023. "Environmental regulations and firms' green innovations: Transforming pressure into incentives," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    16. Gao, Yanyan & Zheng, Jianghuai & Wang, Xin, 2022. "Does high-speed rail reduce environmental pollution? Establishment-level evidence from China," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    17. He, Zhenyu & Tang, Yuwei, 2023. "Local environmental constraints and firms’ export product quality: Evidence from China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    18. Mathilde Maurel & Thomas Pernet & Zhao Ruili, 2019. "Financial Dependencies, Environmental Regulation and Pollution Intensity: Evidence From China," Post-Print halshs-02423350, HAL.
    19. Yuping Deng & Yanrui Wu & Helian Xu, 2019. "Environmental Regulation and Export Product Quality: Evidence from Chinese Firms," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 19-14, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    20. Li, Jennifer (Jie) & Massa, Massimo & Zhang, Hong & Zhang, Jian, 2021. "Air pollution, behavioral bias, and the disposition effect in China," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 142(2), pages 641-673.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Clean heating; Air pollution; Environmental regulation; Spillover effects;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:chieco:v:85:y:2024:i:c:s1043951x24000683. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/chieco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.