IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i16p9851-d884610.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can Economic Growth and Environmental Protection Achieve a “Win–Win” Situation? Empirical Evidence from China

Author

Listed:
  • Zhen Yang

    (College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Weifang University, Weifang 261061, China
    Innovation Center for CIM + Urban Regeneration, Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266033, China)

  • Weijun Gao

    (Faculty of Environmental Engineering, The University of Kitakyushu, Kitakyushu 808-0135, Japan
    Innovation Institute for Sustainable Maritime Architecture Research and Technology (iSMART), Qingdao University of Technology, Qingdao 266033, China)

  • Jiawei Li

    (College of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Weifang University, Weifang 261061, China)

Abstract

Achieving a “win–win” situation regarding economic growth and environmental protection has become a common goal for sustainable development in all countries around the world. As the world’s largest developing country and the second largest economy, China has been striving to maintain economic growth while improving environmental quality to achieve its sustainable development goals. Applying the decoupling approach, a model widely used to quantify the relationship between the environment and the economy, this study analyzed the relationship between the economy and the environment, examining the decoupling performance of economic growth and environmental impacts in 30 Chinese provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities to investigate whether economic growth and environmental protection have achieved a “win–win” situation. Nighttime light (NTL) data were used to measure the performance of economic growth. In addition, an environmental pressure index (EPI) assessment framework covering 6 primary and 11 secondary indicators was constructed to measure the environmental quality of China over time. First, NTL data proved to be a valid data source for assessing decoupling performance; second, environmental pressure at both the national and provincial levels significantly decreased during the study period; third, the relationship between the economy and the environment has been further improved, and economic growth and environmental protection have achieved a “win–win” situation. These findings offer an in-depth analysis of the decoupling of the economy and the environment in China and serve as a guide for future implementation strategies for sustainable development in various regions.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhen Yang & Weijun Gao & Jiawei Li, 2022. "Can Economic Growth and Environmental Protection Achieve a “Win–Win” Situation? Empirical Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-21, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:16:p:9851-:d:884610
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/16/9851/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/16/9851/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Steve Hatfield-Dodds & Heinz Schandl & Philip D. Adams & Timothy M. Baynes & Thomas S. Brinsmead & Brett A. Bryan & Francis H. S. Chiew & Paul W. Graham & Mike Grundy & Tom Harwood & Rebecca McCallum , 2016. "Australia is 'free to choose' economic growth and falling environmental pressures," Nature, Nature, vol. 534(7607), pages 1-2, June.
    2. Yanli Ji & Jie Xue, 2022. "Decoupling Effect of County Carbon Emissions and Economic Growth in China: Empirical Evidence from Jiangsu Province," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(6), pages 1-22, March.
    3. Azomahou, Theophile & Laisney, Francois & Nguyen Van, Phu, 2006. "Economic development and CO2 emissions: A nonparametric panel approach," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(6-7), pages 1347-1363, August.
    4. Stern, David I. & Common, Michael S., 2001. "Is There an Environmental Kuznets Curve for Sulfur?," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 41(2), pages 162-178, March.
    5. Jaunky, Vishal Chandr, 2011. "The CO2 emissions-income nexus: Evidence from rich countries," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 1228-1240, March.
    6. 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.
    7. Li, Xu & Wu, Xiaole & Zhang, Fuqiang, 2015. "A method for analyzing pollution control policies: Application to SO2 emissions in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 451-459.
    8. Liu, Gengyuan & Yang, Zhifeng & Fath, Brian D. & Shi, Lei & Ulgiati, Sergio, 2017. "Time and space model of urban pollution migration: Economy-energy-environment nexus network," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 186(P2), pages 96-114.
    9. Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo & Mary Oluwatoyin Agboola & Husam Rjoub & Ibrahim Adeshola & Ephraim Bonah Agyekum & Nallapaneni Manoj Kumar, 2021. "Linking Economic Growth, Urbanization, and Environmental Degradation in China: What Is the Role of Hydroelectricity Consumption?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(13), pages 1-14, June.
    10. ChaoQing Yu & Xiao Huang & Han Chen & H. Charles J. Godfray & Jonathon S. Wright & Jim W. Hall & Peng Gong & ShaoQiang Ni & ShengChao Qiao & GuoRui Huang & YuChen Xiao & Jie Zhang & Zhao Feng & XiaoTa, 2019. "Managing nitrogen to restore water quality in China," Nature, Nature, vol. 567(7749), pages 516-520, March.
    11. Hannes Egli & Thomas Steger, 2007. "A Dynamic Model of the Environmental Kuznets Curve: Turning Point and Public Policy," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 36(1), pages 15-34, January.
    12. Cristina Ruza & Raquel Caro-Carretero, 2022. "The Non-Linear Impact of Financial Development on Environmental Quality and Sustainability: Evidence from G7 Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-21, July.
    13. Yao Bo Shi & Xin Xin Zhao & Chyi-Lu Jang & Chun-Ping Chang, 2019. "Decoupling effect between economic development and environmental pollution: A spatial-temporal investigation using 31 provinces in China," Energy & Environment, , vol. 30(5), pages 755-775, August.
    14. Arrow, Kenneth & Bolin, Bert & Costanza, Robert & Dasgupta, Partha & Folke, Carl & Holling, C.S. & Jansson, Bengt-Owe & Levin, Simon & Mäler, Karl-Göran & Perrings, Charles & Pimentel, David, 1996. "Economic growth, carrying capacity, and the environment," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 1(1), pages 104-110, February.
    15. Bertinelli, Luisito & Strobl, Eric, 2005. "The Environmental Kuznets Curve semi-parametrically revisited," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 88(3), pages 350-357, September.
    16. Justin Tevie & Kristine M. Grimsrud & Robert P. Berrens, 2011. "Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis for Biodiversity Risk in the US: A Spatial Econometric Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 3(11), pages 1-18, November.
    17. Pallab Majumder & Robert P. Berrens & Alok K. Bohara, 2006. "Is there an environmental kuznets curve for the risk of biodiversity loss?," Journal of Developing Areas, Tennessee State University, College of Business, vol. 39(2), pages 175-190, January-M.
    18. Gregory Chow, 2006. "Are Chinese Official Statistics Reliable?," CESifo Economic Studies, CESifo Group, vol. 52(2), pages 396-414, June.
    19. Xiangyu Ge & Zhimin Zhou & Yanli Zhou & Xinyue Ye & Songlin Liu, 2018. "A Spatial Panel Data Analysis of Economic Growth, Urbanization, and NO x Emissions in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-20, April.
    20. Ayoub Zeraibi & Daniel Balsalobre-Lorente & Khurram Shehzad, 2021. "Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypotheses in Chinese Provinces: A Nexus between Regional Government Expenditures and Environmental Quality," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-16, September.
    21. Jeyhun I. Mikayilov & Fakhri J. Hasanov & Marzio Galeotti, 2018. "Decoupling of C02 Emissions and GDP: A Time-Varying Cointegration Approach," IEFE Working Papers 101, IEFE, Center for Research on Energy and Environmental Economics and Policy, Universita' Bocconi, Milano, Italy.
    22. Al-Mulali, Usama & Saboori, Behnaz & Ozturk, Ilhan, 2015. "Investigating the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis in Vietnam," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 123-131.
    23. Wang, Miao & Feng, Chao, 2021. "The win-win ability of environmental protection and economic development during China's transition," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 166(C).
    24. Mara Madaleno & Victor Moutinho, 2021. "Analysis of the New Kuznets Relationship: Considering Emissions of Carbon, Methanol, and Nitrous Oxide Greenhouse Gases—Evidence from EU Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-23, March.
    25. Xin Zhang & Eric A. Davidson & Denise L. Mauzerall & Timothy D. Searchinger & Patrice Dumas & Ye Shen, 2015. "Managing nitrogen for sustainable development," Nature, Nature, vol. 528(7580), pages 51-59, December.
    26. Doll, Christopher N.H. & Muller, Jan-Peter & Morley, Jeremy G., 2006. "Mapping regional economic activity from night-time light satellite imagery," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 57(1), pages 75-92, April.
    27. Roger Perman & David I. Stern, 2003. "Evidence from panel unit root and cointegration tests that the Environmental Kuznets Curve does not exist," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 47(3), pages 325-347, September.
    28. Roinioti, Argiro & Koroneos, Christopher, 2017. "The decomposition of CO2 emissions from energy use in Greece before and during the economic crisis and their decoupling from economic growth," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 448-459.
    29. Costanza, Robert, 1995. "Economic growth, carrying capacity, and the environment," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 15(2), pages 89-90, November.
    30. Dasgupta, Susmita & Hettige, Hemamala & Wheeler, David, 2000. "What Improves Environmental Compliance? Evidence from Mexican Industry," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 39-66, January.
    31. Bin Chen & Yimeng Song & Tingting Jiang & Ziyue Chen & Bo Huang & Bing Xu, 2018. "Real-Time Estimation of Population Exposure to PM 2.5 Using Mobile- and Station-Based Big Data," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 15(4), pages 1-14, March.
    32. Soytas, Ugur & Sari, Ramazan & Ewing, Bradley T., 2007. "Energy consumption, income, and carbon emissions in the United States," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(3-4), pages 482-489, May.
    33. Weijiang Liu & Tingting Liu, 2022. "Exploring the Impact and Path of Environmental Protection Tax on Different Air Pollutant Emissions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(8), pages 1-14, April.
    34. Lopez, Ramon & Mitra, Siddhartha, 2000. "Corruption, Pollution, and the Kuznets Environment Curve," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(2), pages 137-150, September.
    35. Yue Wang & Lei Shi & Di Chen & Xue Tan, 2020. "Spatial-Temporal Analysis and Driving Factors Decomposition of (De)Coupling Condition of SO 2 Emissions in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(18), pages 1-18, September.
    36. Aurelien Boutaud & Natacha Gondran & Christian Brodhag, 2006. "(Local) environmental quality versus (global) ecological carrying capacity: what might alternative aggregated indicators bring to the debates about environmental Kuznets curves and sustainable develop," International Journal of Sustainable Development, Inderscience Enterprises Ltd, vol. 9(3), pages 297-310.
    37. 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.
    38. Lei Gao & Brett A. Bryan, 2017. "Finding pathways to national-scale land-sector sustainability," Nature, Nature, vol. 544(7649), pages 217-222, April.
    39. Daniel-Eduard Constantin & Corina Bocăneala & Mirela Voiculescu & Adrian Roşu & Alexis Merlaud & Michel Van Roozendael & Puiu Lucian Georgescu, 2020. "Evolution of SO 2 and NOx Emissions from Several Large Combustion Plants in Europe during 2005–2015," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(10), pages 1-15, May.
    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. Huo, Jie & Peng, Chen, 2023. "Depletion of natural resources and environmental quality: Prospects of energy use, energy imports, and economic growth hindrances," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PA).
    2. Yeboah, Samuel, 2023. "Balancing Growth and Green: Strategies for Sustainable Development in Developing Economies," MPRA Paper 118180, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 20 Jun 2023.
    3. Muxuan Li & Jingbin Wang, 2023. "Will “Dual Control of the Amount and Intensity of Energy Consumption (DCEC)” Policy Increase Urban Green Competitiveness?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-19, October.
    4. Zhaoyang Liu & Samuel Esteban Rodríguez, 2024. "Research on the Interaction Mechanism between Land System Reform and Rural Population Flow: Europe (Taking Spain as an Example) and China," Land, MDPI, vol. 13(8), pages 1-19, July.

    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. Roxana Pincheira & Felipe Zuniga, 2021. "Environmental Kuznets curve bibliographic map: a systematic literature review," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(S1), pages 1931-1956, April.
    2. Atwi, Majed & Barberán, Ramón & Mur, Jesús & Angulo, Ana, 2018. "CO2 Kuznets Curve Revisited: From Cross-Sections to Panel Data Models," INVESTIGACIONES REGIONALES - Journal of REGIONAL RESEARCH, Asociación Española de Ciencia Regional, issue 40, pages 169-196.
    3. David I. Stern, 2017. "The environmental Kuznets curve after 25 years," Journal of Bioeconomics, Springer, vol. 19(1), pages 7-28, April.
    4. Luzzati, T. & Orsini, M., 2009. "Investigating the energy-environmental Kuznets curve," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(3), pages 291-300.
    5. Bennedsen, Mikkel & Hillebrand, Eric & Jensen, Sebastian, 2023. "A neural network approach to the environmental Kuznets curve," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C).
    6. Priscilla Massa-Sánchez & Luis Quintana-Romero & Ronny Correa-Quezada & María de la Cruz del Río-Rama, 2020. "Empirical Evidence in Ecuador between Economic Growth and Environmental Deterioration," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-20, January.
    7. Mikkel Bennedsen & Eric Hillebrand & Sebastian Jensen, 2022. "A Neural Network Approach to the Environmental Kuznets Curve," CREATES Research Papers 2022-09, Department of Economics and Business Economics, Aarhus University.
    8. Roxana Pincheira & Felipe Zuniga & Pablo Neudorfer, 2021. "Carbon Kuznets curve: a dynamic empirical approach for a panel data," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 61(4), pages 5523-5541, December.
    9. Yang, Haisheng & He, Jie & Chen, Shaoling, 2015. "The fragility of the Environmental Kuznets Curve: Revisiting the hypothesis with Chinese data via an “Extreme Bound Analysis”," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 41-58.
    10. Balsalobre-Lorente, Daniel & Shahbaz, Muhammad & Roubaud, David & Farhani, Sahbi, 2018. "How economic growth, renewable electricity and natural resources contribute to CO2 emissions?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 356-367.
    11. Fernández-Amador, Octavio & Francois, Joseph F. & Oberdabernig, Doris A. & Tomberger, Patrick, 2017. "Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Economic Growth: An Assessment Based on Production and Consumption Emission Inventories," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 269-279.
    12. Chen, Xudong & Huang, Bihong & Lin, Chin-Te, 2019. "Environmental awareness and environmental Kuznets curve," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 77(C), pages 2-11.
    13. Dinda, Soumyananda, 2004. "Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis: A Survey," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(4), pages 431-455, August.
    14. Rabeh Khalfaoui & Aviral Kumar Tiwari & Usman Khalid & Muhammad Shahbaz, 2023. "Nexus between carbon dioxide emissions and economic growth in G7 countries: fresh insights via wavelet coherence analysis," Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 66(1), pages 31-66, January.
    15. Neequaye, Nii Amon & Oladi, Reza, 2015. "Environment, growth, and FDI revisited," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 47-56.
    16. Charfeddine, Lanouar & Mrabet, Zouhair, 2017. "The impact of economic development and social-political factors on ecological footprint: A panel data analysis for 15 MENA countries," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 138-154.
    17. Costantini, Valeria & Monni, Salvatore, 2008. "Environment, human development and economic growth," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(4), pages 867-880, February.
    18. Richard T. Carson, 2010. "The Environmental Kuznets Curve: Seeking Empirical Regularity and Theoretical Structure," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 4(1), pages 3-23, Winter.
    19. Di Vita, Giuseppe, 2008. "Is the discount rate relevant in explaining the Environmental Kuznets Curve?," Journal of Policy Modeling, Elsevier, vol. 30(2), pages 191-207.
    20. 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.

    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:19:y:2022:i:16:p:9851-:d:884610. 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.