IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/wdevel/v138y2021ics0305750x20303946.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Effects of time-dependent environmental regulations on air pollution: Evidence from the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan region, China

Author

Listed:
  • Li, Ke
  • Yuan, Weihong
  • Li, Jianglong
  • Ai, Hongshan

Abstract

This study examines the impacts of time-dependent environmental regulations on air pollution during the autumn and winter. This was done by exploiting a quasi-experimental setting where a special period regulation was implemented in the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan region (CZT, located within Hunan Province in southern China), but not in cities surrounding CZT over the same period. Using hourly level data from October 1, 2014, to September 30, 2017, and by employing a difference-in-differences model, we found that the special period regulation significantly reduced PM2.5 concentrations, the Air Quality Index, and the probability of the occurrence of severely polluted days in CZT. Furthermore, we found that while this regulation had significant negative impacts on air pollution in Changsha, the impacts were not robust in Zhuzhou and Xiangtan. Our results further revealed that the regulatory effects were significantly negative over a 24-hour time period, but the effects temporarily weakened from 12 pm to 2–3 pm. We also confirmed that such regulations can be used to achieve a “win-win” situation in terms of environmental protection and economic growth. Thus, the results suggest that time-dependent environmental regulations will be valuable in combination with existing policies to improve air quality during specific periods.

Suggested Citation

  • Li, Ke & Yuan, Weihong & Li, Jianglong & Ai, Hongshan, 2021. "Effects of time-dependent environmental regulations on air pollution: Evidence from the Changsha-Zhuzhou-Xiangtan region, China," World Development, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:wdevel:v:138:y:2021:i:c:s0305750x20303946
    DOI: 10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105267
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X20303946
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.worlddev.2020.105267?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. Fredrik Andersson & Rikard Forslid, 2003. "Tax Competition and Economic Geography," Journal of Public Economic Theory, Association for Public Economic Theory, vol. 5(2), pages 279-303, April.
    2. Chen, Han & Chen, Wenying, 2019. "Potential impact of shifting coal to gas and electricity for building sectors in 28 major northern cities of China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 1049-1061.
    3. 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.
    4. Hering, Laura & Poncet, Sandra, 2014. "Environmental policy and exports: Evidence from Chinese cities," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 68(2), pages 296-318.
    5. Janet Currie & Lucas Davis & Michael Greenstone & Reed Walker, 2015. "Environmental Health Risks and Housing Values: Evidence from 1,600 Toxic Plant Openings and Closings," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 105(2), pages 678-709, February.
    6. Bagayev, Igor & Lochard, Julie, 2017. "EU air pollution regulation: A breath of fresh air for Eastern European polluting industries?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 145-163.
    7. Meredith Fowlie & Stephen P. Holland & Erin T. Mansur, 2012. "What Do Emissions Markets Deliver and to Whom? Evidence from Southern California's NOx Trading Program," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(2), pages 965-993, April.
    8. He, Guojun & Fan, Maoyong & Zhou, Maigeng, 2016. "The effect of air pollution on mortality in China: Evidence from the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 18-39.
    9. Akbostanci, Eli̇f & Tunç, G. İpek & Türüt-Aşik, Serap, 2007. "Pollution haven hypothesis and the role of dirty industries in Turkey's exports," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 12(2), pages 297-322, April.
    10. Viard, V. Brian & Fu, Shihe, 2015. "The effect of Beijing's driving restrictions on pollution and economic activity," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 98-115.
    11. Niu, Dong-xiao & Song, Zong-yun & Xiao, Xin-li, 2017. "Electric power substitution for coal in China: Status quo and SWOT analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 610-622.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. 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).
    2. Ai, Hongshan & Zhong, Tenglong & Zhou, Zhengqing, 2022. "The real economic costs of COVID-19: Insights from electricity consumption data in Hunan Province, China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 105(C).
    3. Dai, Shufen & Qian, Yawen & He, Weijun & Wang, Chen & Shi, Tianyu, 2022. "The spatial spillover effect of China's carbon emissions trading policy on industrial carbon intensity: Evidence from a spatial difference-in-difference method," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 63(C), pages 139-149.
    4. Liu, Xiaoguang & Ji, Qiang & Yu, Jian, 2021. "Sustainable development goals and firm carbon emissions: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    5. Shi, Kehan & Wang, Jinfang, 2024. "The influence and spatial effects of high-speed railway construction on urban industrial upgrading: Based on an industrial transfer perspective," Socio-Economic Planning Sciences, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    6. Xinze Li & Luojia Wang & Kerui Du, 2023. "How do environmental regulations influence resource misallocation in China? The role of investment flows," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 538-550, January.
    7. Ren, Xiaohang & Zeng, Gudian & Dong, Kangyin & Wang, Kun, 2023. "How does high-speed rail affect tourism development? The case of the Sichuan-Chongqing Economic Circle," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 169(C).
    8. 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.
    9. Yang, Lisha & Li, Yutianhao & Liu, Hongxun, 2021. "Did carbon trade improve green production performance? Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 96(C).
    10. Wang, Juan & Li, Ziming & Wang, Yanan, 2024. "How does China's energy-consumption trading policy affect the carbon abatement costs? An analysis based on spatial difference-in-differences method," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).

    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. 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).
    2. Liu, Cenjie & Fang, Jiayu & Xie, Rui, 2021. "Energy policy and corporate financial performance: Evidence from China's 11th five-year plan," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    3. Cenjie Liu & Chunbo Ma & Rui Xie, 2020. "Structural, Innovation and Efficiency Effects of Environmental Regulation: Evidence from China’s Carbon Emissions Trading Pilot," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 75(4), pages 741-768, April.
    4. Xu, Jian & Zheng, Jiaxing, 2022. "Mass media, air quality, and management turnover," Journal of International Financial Markets, Institutions and Money, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    5. 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).
    6. Lei Ding & Xuejuan Fang, 2022. "Spatial–temporal distribution of air-pollution-intensive industries and its social-economic driving mechanism in Zhejiang Province, China: a framework of spatial econometric analysis," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(2), pages 1681-1712, February.
    7. Mathilde Maurel & Thomas Pernet & Zhao Ruili, 2019. "Financial Dependencies, Environmental Regulation and Pollution Intensity: Evidence From China," Post-Print halshs-02423350, HAL.
    8. Li, Shanjun & Liu, Yanyan & Purevjav, Avralt-Od & Yang, Lin, 2019. "Does subway expansion improve air quality?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 96(C), pages 213-235.
    9. Ma, Teng & Takeuchi, Kenji, 2020. "Cleaning up the air for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games: Empirical study on China's thermal power sector," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(C).
    10. Dong, Yan & Tian, Jinhuan & Wen, Qiang, 2022. "Environmental regulation and outward foreign direct investment: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    11. Mao, Jie & Wang, Chunhua & Yin, Haitao, 2023. "Corporate responses to air quality regulation: Evidence from a regional environmental policy in China," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    12. Konstantin Sommer & Henri L.F. de Groot & Franc Klaassen, 2022. "The effects of market integration on pollution: an analysis of EU enlargements," Tinbergen Institute Discussion Papers 22-039/VI, Tinbergen Institute, revised 21 Mar 2023.
    13. Jia Xu & Jiuchang Wei & Haipeng (Allan) Chen, 2019. "Strategic responses of stigmatized Chinese manufacturing firms to formal and informal environmental regulative pressures through enhanced corporate social responsibility effort," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 26(6), pages 1235-1260, November.
    14. Shuddhasattwa Rafiq & Ingrid Nielsen & Russell Smyth, 2016. "Effect of Internal Migration on Air and Water Pollution in China," Monash Economics Working Papers 27-16, Monash University, Department of Economics.
    15. Wu, Xiaofei & Ma, Jie & Gao, Yanyan & Li, Bin & Chen, Xueli & Song, Malin, 2023. "Policy uncertainty and air pollution: Evidence from the turnover of local officials in China," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 532-543.
    16. Feng, Tong & Sun, Yuechi & Shi, Yating & Ma, Jie & Feng, Chunmei & Chen, Zhenni, 2024. "Air pollution control policies and impacts: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 191(C).
    17. Yu, Yunjiang & Dai, Chun & Wei, Yigang & Ren, Huiming & Zhou, Jiawen, 2022. "Air pollution prevention and control action plan substantially reduced PM2.5 concentration in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    18. Juan Wang & Qiuhe Wei & Qing Wan & Hai Li, 2021. "Heterogeneity Analysis of the Effects of Haze Pollution on the Health of Left-Behind Children in Urban and Rural Areas in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-13, November.
    19. 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.
    20. Jin, Gang & Yu, Binbin & Shen, Kunrong, 2021. "Domestic trade and energy productivity in China: An inverted U-shaped relationship," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 97(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Special period regulation; Air pollution reduction; Difference-in-differences method;
    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
    • Q58 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environmental Economics: Government Policy
    • Q52 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Pollution Control Adoption and Costs; Distributional Effects; Employment Effects

    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:wdevel:v:138:y:2021:i:c:s0305750x20303946. 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/worlddev .

    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.