IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v15y2018i11p2456-d180493.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

An Evaluation of Environmental Governance in Urban China Based on a Hesitant Fuzzy Linguistic Analytic Network Process

Author

Listed:
  • Xing Gao

    (The Bartlett School of Planning, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK)

  • Cheng Shi

    (College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, Shanghai 200092, China)

  • Keyu Zhai

    (School of Education, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK)

Abstract

The aim of this study is to evaluate the performance of urban environmental governance by developing hesitant fuzzy linguistic analytic network process (HFL-ANP). The study bridges the gaps in current knowledge in the following ways: the study methodically develops the HFL-ANP method to evaluate and pick the optimal environmental governance strategy from alternatives; theoretically, network structure of evaluation indicators system on environmental governance is constructed, and the objective and subjective information in the evaluation process of environmental governance is combined. In detail, based on the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) and the pollution haven hypothesis, the paper constructs the evaluation indexes system of environmental governance and takes observation time length into consideration. Then, we choose three urban cases of environmental governance by exploring the existing literature. Furthermore, we develop the HFL-ANP method and apply it to the cases. The study calculates the initial weights of all indexes by using multiplicative consistency of the HFL preference relation, and derives the decision matrix through combining objective information with subjective information of environmental governance. Finally, we come to the following conclusions: ANP network stricture is close to real-world practical problems and provides the basis for HFL-ANP method; HFL-ANP is a very suitable method of assessing environmental governance; and based on the urban cases of environmental governance, Shanghai is the optimal alternative. In addition, this indicator system can only be applied to cities in China, and the administrative hierarchy of policies has not been considered by this method. Thus, future studies should expand this method and indicator network to contain different countries and different administrative hierarchy.

Suggested Citation

  • Xing Gao & Cheng Shi & Keyu Zhai, 2018. "An Evaluation of Environmental Governance in Urban China Based on a Hesitant Fuzzy Linguistic Analytic Network Process," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(11), pages 1-20, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:11:p:2456-:d:180493
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/11/2456/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/15/11/2456/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Grossman, G.M & Krueger, A.B., 1991. "Environmental Impacts of a North American Free Trade Agreement," Papers 158, Princeton, Woodrow Wilson School - Public and International Affairs.
    2. Patten, Dennis M. & Nance, Jon R., 1998. "Regulatory cost effects in a good news environment: The intra-industry reaction to the Alaskan oil spill," Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, Elsevier, vol. 17(4-5), pages 409-429.
    3. Ulutaş, Berna Haktanırlar, 2005. "Determination of the appropriate energy policy for Turkey," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 30(7), pages 1146-1161.
    4. Judith M. Dean & Mary E. Lovely & Hua Wang, 2017. "Are foreign investors attracted to weak environmental regulations? Evaluating the evidence from China," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Mary E Lovely (ed.), International Economic Integration and Domestic Performance, chapter 9, pages 155-167, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    5. Erdogmus, Senol & Aras, Haydar & Koç, Eylem, 2006. "Evaluation of alternative fuels for residential heating in Turkey using analytic network process (ANP) with group decision-making," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 10(3), pages 269-279, June.
    6. Hua Wang & Yanhong Jin, 2007. "Industrial Ownership and Environmental Performance: Evidence from China," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 36(3), pages 255-273, March.
    7. Song, Tao & Zheng, Tingguo & Tong, Lianjun, 2008. "An empirical test of the environmental Kuznets curve in China: A panel cointegration approach," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 19(3), pages 381-392, September.
    8. Niemira, Michael P. & Saaty, Thomas L., 2004. "An Analytic Network Process model for financial-crisis forecasting," International Journal of Forecasting, Elsevier, vol. 20(4), pages 573-587.
    9. Xu, Zeshui, 2005. "Deviation measures of linguistic preference relations in group decision making," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 33(3), pages 249-254, June.
    10. He, Jie, 2010. "What is the role of openness for China's aggregate industrial SO2 emission?: A structural analysis based on the Divisia decomposition method," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 69(4), pages 868-886, February.
    11. Canfei He & Yehua Dennis Wei & Xiuzhen Xie, 2008. "Globalization, Institutional Change, and Industrial Location: Economic Transition and Industrial Concentration in China," Regional Studies, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 42(7), pages 923-945.
    12. Ju, Keyi & Su, Bin & Zhou, Dequn & Wu, Junmin, 2017. "Does energy-price regulation benefit China's economy and environment? Evidence from energy-price distortions," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 105(C), pages 108-119.
    13. Ailie K.Y. Tang & Kee‐hung Lai & T. C. E. Cheng, 2012. "Environmental Governance of Enterprises and their Economic Upshot through Corporate Reputation and Customer Satisfaction," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 21(6), pages 401-411, September.
    14. Shen, Junyi, 2006. "A simultaneous estimation of Environmental Kuznets Curve: Evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 17(4), pages 383-394.
    15. Partovi, Fariborz Y., 2006. "An analytic model for locating facilities strategically," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 41-55, January.
    16. Jing Ma & Gordon Mitchell & Guanpeng Dong & Wenzhong Zhang, 2017. "Inequality in Beijing: A Spatial Multilevel Analysis of Perceived Environmental Hazard and Self-Rated Health," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 107(1), pages 109-129, January.
    17. Paweł Ziemba & Jarosław Wątróbski & Jarosław Jankowski & Mateusz Piwowarski, 2016. "Research on the Properties of the AHP in the Environment of Inaccurate Expert Evaluations," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: Kesra Nermend & Małgorzata Łatuszyńska (ed.), Selected Issues in Experimental Economics, edition 1, chapter 0, pages 227-243, Springer.
    18. Niu, Shuwen & Zhang, Xin & Zhao, Chunsheng & Ding, Yongxia & Niu, Yunzhu & Christensen, Thomas H., 2011. "Household energy use and emission reduction effects of energy conversion in Lanzhou city, China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 1431-1436.
    19. Lu, Bingbin, 2013. "Expedited patent examination for green inventions: Developing countries' policy choices," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 1529-1538.
    20. Panayotou, Theodore, 1997. "Demystifying the environmental Kuznets curve: turning a black box into a policy tool," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 2(4), pages 465-484, November.
    21. Paweł Ziemba & Jarosław Wątróbski, 2016. "Selected Issues of Rank Reversal Problem in ANP Method," Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics, in: Kesra Nermend & Małgorzata Łatuszyńska (ed.), Selected Issues in Experimental Economics, edition 1, chapter 0, pages 203-225, Springer.
    22. Yu-Shan Chen & Ching-Hsun Chang, 2013. "Enhance environmental commitments and green intangible assets toward green competitive advantages: an analysis of structural equation modeling (SEM)," Quality & Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, Springer, vol. 47(1), pages 529-543, January.
    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. Jian Wang & Jin-Chun Huang & Shan-Lin Huang & Gwo-Hshiung Tzeng & Ting Zhu, 2021. "Improvement Path for Resource-Constrained Cities Identified Using an Environmental Co-Governance Assessment Framework Based on BWM-mV Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-30, May.
    2. Yingxin Chen & Jing Zhang & Pandu R. Tadikamalla & Xutong Gao, 2019. "The Relationship among Government, Enterprise, and Public in Environmental Governance from the Perspective of Multi-Player Evolutionary Game," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(18), pages 1-17, September.
    3. Letycja Sołoducho-Pelc & Adam Sulich, 2022. "Natural Environment Protection Strategies and Green Management Style: Literature Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(17), pages 1-25, August.

    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. Sabuj Kumar Mandal & Devleena Chakravarty, 2017. "Role of energy in estimating turning point of Environmental Kuznets Curve: an econometric analysis of the existing studies," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 19(2), pages 387-401, October.
    2. Devleena Chakravarty & Sabuj Kumar Mandal, 2019. "Environmental Kuznets curve for local and global pollutants: application of GMM and random coefficient panel data models," Journal of Social and Economic Development, Springer;Institute for Social and Economic Change, vol. 21(2), pages 212-233, December.
    3. Canfei He & Fenghua Pan & Yan Yan, 2012. "Is Economic Transition Harmful to China’s Urban Environment? Evidence from Industrial Air Pollution in Chinese Cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(8), pages 1767-1790, June.
    4. Wang, Sophie Xuefei & Fu, Yu Benjamin & Zhang, Zhe George, 2015. "Population growth and the environmental Kuznets curve," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 146-165.
    5. Matias Piaggio & Emilio Padilla & Carolina Roman, 2015. "The long-run relationshiop between C02 emissions and economic activity in a small open economy: Uruguay 1882-2010," Working Papers wpdea1506, Department of Applied Economics at Universitat Autonoma of Barcelona.
    6. Xiaoping He & Xin Yao, 2017. "Foreign Direct Investments and the Environmental Kuznets Curve: New Evidence from Chinese Provinces," Emerging Markets Finance and Trade, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(1), pages 12-25, January.
    7. Brajer, Victor & Mead, Robert W. & Xiao, Feng, 2011. "Searching for an Environmental Kuznets Curve in China's air pollution," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 22(3), pages 383-397, September.
    8. Lee, Sanghoon & Oh, Dae-Won, 2015. "Economic growth and the environment in China: Empirical evidence using prefecture level data," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 73-85.
    9. Piaggio, Matías & Padilla, Emilio, 2012. "CO2 emissions and economic activity: Heterogeneity across countries and non-stationary series," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 370-381.
    10. Li, Tingting & Wang, Yong & Zhao, Dingtao, 2016. "Environmental Kuznets Curve in China: New evidence from dynamic panel analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 138-147.
    11. TAGUCHI Hiroyuki & MUROFUSHI Harutaka, 2009. "Environmental Latecomer's Effects in Chinese Provinces," ESRI Discussion paper series 212, Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
    12. He, Qichun, 2015. "Fiscal decentralization and environmental pollution: Evidence from Chinese panel data," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 86-100.
    13. D. Jingyuan I. & L. Chong I. & L. Marsiliani & D. Jingyuan I. & L. Chong I. & L. Marsiliani, 2018. "Взаимосвязь между экономическим ростом и окружающей средой в Пекине на основе показателя PM2.5 // The Relationship between Growth and the Environment in Beijing, Using PM2.5 Concentrations," Review of Business and Economics Studies // Review of Business and Economics Studies, Финансовый Университет // Financial University, vol. 6(2), pages 5-18.
    14. Song, Ma-Lin & Zhang, Wei & Wang, Shu-Hong, 2013. "Inflection point of environmental Kuznets curve in Mainland China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 57(C), pages 14-20.
    15. Haider Mahmood & Maham Furqan & Muhammad Shahid Hassan & Soumen Rej, 2023. "The Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) Hypothesis in China: A Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(7), pages 1-32, April.
    16. Zilio, Mariana & Recalde, Marina, 2011. "GDP and environment pressure: The role of energy in Latin America and the Caribbean," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(12), pages 7941-7949.
    17. Lan, Jing & Munro, Alistair & Liu, Zhen, 2017. "Environmental regulatory stringency and the market for abatement goods and services in China," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 50(C), pages 105-123.
    18. Piaggio, Matías & Padilla, Emilio & Román, Carolina, 2017. "The long-term relationship between CO2 emissions and economic activity in a small open economy: Uruguay 1882–2010," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 271-282.
    19. Yunpeng Luo & Huai Chen & Qiu'an Zhu & Changhui Peng & Gang Yang & Yanzheng Yang & Yao Zhang, 2014. "Relationship between Air Pollutants and Economic Development of the Provincial Capital Cities in China during the Past Decade," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(8), pages 1-14, August.
    20. Tamazian, Artur & Chousa, Juan Piñeiro & Vadlamannati, Krishna Chaitanya, 2009. "Does higher economic and financial development lead to environmental degradation: Evidence from BRIC countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(1), pages 246-253, January.

    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:gam:jijerp:v:15:y:2018:i:11:p:2456-:d:180493. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.