IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2022i1p13-d1008783.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Research on the Spatial Correlation of China’s Haze Pollution and the Government’s Cooperative Governance Competitive Strategy

Author

Listed:
  • Shijin Wang

    (School of Business, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China)

  • Guirong Ji

    (School of Business, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China)

  • Zhaolian Hu

    (School of Business, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China)

  • Fangdao Qiu

    (School of Geography, Geomatics and Planning, Jiangsu Normal University, Xuzhou 221116, China)

Abstract

A government’s choice of environmental strategy plays an important role in the coordinated governance of regional air pollution. Based on changes in China’s environmental policies and on changes in environmental indicators over the years, this paper selects regional haze data from the years 2005, 2009, 2013, and 2017; uses social network analysis to describe the structural characteristics of a spatial correlation network in China; measures the level of coordination using a population gravity model; and further analyzes the influence of the overall structural characteristics of spatial networks on the level of coordination. The results show that the spatial association of regional haze presents a typical “central edge” network structure. The Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region and the Yangtze River Delta region are the largest emitters in China. The coordination level of haze control in China showed a fluctuating upward trend, but the overall level of coordination is relatively low, and there is still great room for improvement. Based on the above characteristics, using the provincial panel data from 2005–2017, a two-zone spatial Durbin model was built to empirically test the impact of changes to the environmental performance assessment system on local coordinated haze-control decisions and their stage characteristics. The overall sample results show that there was a “race to the bottom” among Chinese provinces during the study period. When the haze control intensity in neighboring areas was relaxed, the regional governments also tended to relax their own environmental regulation intensity. The time-based analysis results further show that with the improvement of the environmental performance assessment system, the strategy selection of coordinated governmental haze-management presents the possibility of a “race to the top”.

Suggested Citation

  • Shijin Wang & Guirong Ji & Zhaolian Hu & Fangdao Qiu, 2022. "Research on the Spatial Correlation of China’s Haze Pollution and the Government’s Cooperative Governance Competitive Strategy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-15, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2022:i:1:p:13-:d:1008783
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/1/13/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/1/13/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. J. Paul Elhorst & Sandy Fréret, 2009. "Evidence Of Political Yardstick Competition In France Using A Two‐Regime Spatial Durbin Model With Fixed Effects," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 49(5), pages 931-951, December.
    2. Matthew A. Cole & Robert J. R. Elliott & Per G. Fredriksson, 2006. "Endogenous Pollution Havens: Does FDI Influence Environmental Regulations?," Scandinavian Journal of Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 108(1), pages 157-178, March.
    3. David M. Konisky, 2007. "Regulatory Competition and Environmental Enforcement: Is There a Race to the Bottom?," American Journal of Political Science, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 51(4), pages 853-872, October.
    4. Inkyoung Kim, 2014. "Messages from a middle power: participation by the Republic of Korea in regional environmental cooperation on transboundary air pollution issues," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 14(2), pages 147-162, May.
    5. Mary-Françoise RENARD & Hang XIONG, 2012. "Strategic Interactions in Environmental Regulation Enforcement: Evidence fromChinese Provinces," Working Papers 201207, CERDI.
    6. Neal D. Woods, 2006. "Interstate Competition and Environmental Regulation: A Test of the Race‐to‐the‐Bottom Thesis," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 87(1), pages 174-189, March.
    7. Forsyth, Tim, 2014. "Public concerns about transboundary haze: a comparison of Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 56043, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    8. Luca Tacconi & Frank Jotzo & R. Grafton, 2008. "Local causes, regional co-operation and global financing for environmental problems: the case of Southeast Asian Haze pollution," International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, Springer, vol. 8(1), pages 1-16, March.
    9. Laura Scrimali & Cristina Mirabella, 2018. "Cooperation in pollution control problems via evolutionary variational inequalities," Journal of Global Optimization, Springer, vol. 70(2), pages 455-476, February.
    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. Jianhuan Huang & Jiejin Xia, 2016. "Regional Competition, Heterogeneous Factors and Pollution Intensity in China: A Spatial Econometric Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-26, February.
    2. Hongmin Zhang & Jinghua Zhang, 2023. "Pollution Transfer under Intergovernmental Competition: Suppression or Opportunity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-18, October.
    3. Shimei Wu & Haotian Zhang, 2022. "The existence and mechanism of the domestic pollution haven hypothesis: evidence from 265 cities in China," Letters in Spatial and Resource Sciences, Springer, vol. 15(3), pages 287-310, December.
    4. Maxwell Chukwudi Udeagha & Marthinus Christoffel Breitenbach, 2023. "The Role of Fiscal Decentralization in Limiting CO2 Emissions in South Africa," Biophysical Economics and Resource Quality, Springer, vol. 8(3), pages 1-30, September.
    5. Lizhi Cui & Min Chen, 2024. "Haze Management Competition and Industrial Green Transformation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(13), pages 1-22, July.
    6. Sailian Xia & Daming You & Zhihua Tang & Bo Yang, 2021. "Analysis of the Spatial Effect of Fiscal Decentralization and Environmental Decentralization on Carbon Emissions under the Pressure of Officials’ Promotion," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-21, March.
    7. Le Gallo, Julie & Ndiaye, Youba, 2021. "Environmental expenditure interactions among OECD countries, 1995–2017," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 244-255.
    8. Rémi BAZILLIER & Sophie HATTE & Julien VAUDAY, 2016. "Is Reputation at Stake When Environmentally Responsible Multinationals Invest Abroad? An Empirical Investigation," LEO Working Papers / DR LEO 2315, Orleans Economics Laboratory / Laboratoire d'Economie d'Orleans (LEO), University of Orleans.
    9. Neal D. Woods, 2021. "The State of State Environmental Policy Research: A Thirty‐Year Progress Report," Review of Policy Research, Policy Studies Organization, vol. 38(3), pages 347-369, May.
    10. Junsong Wang & Xinyue Ye & Yehua Dennis Wei, 2019. "Effects of Agglomeration, Environmental Regulations, and Technology on Pollutant Emissions in China: Integrating Spatial, Social, and Economic Network Analyses," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, January.
    11. Millimet, Daniel L., 2013. "Environmental Federalism: A Survey of the Empirical Literature," IZA Discussion Papers 7831, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. Zhiyang Shen & Yunlong Zhang & Kaifa Wu & Muhammad Irfan & Yu Hao, 2024. "The Environmental Consequences of Local Government Competition: Evidence from 209 Chinese Cities," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 63(6), pages 2115-2137, June.
    13. Wugan Cai & Peiyun Ye, 2022. "Local-neighborhood effects of different environmental regulations on green innovation: evidence from prefecture level cities of China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(4), pages 4810-4834, April.
    14. Zhen Chen & Ce Jia, 2023. "How does environmental regulation affect industrial green productivity of China's cities," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(9), pages 10143-10169, September.
    15. Haiqing Hu & Di Chen & Chun‐Ping Chang & Yin Chu, 2021. "The Political Economy Of Environmental Consequences: A Review Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 250-306, February.
    16. Lizhi Cui & Yining Ding & Xiangqian Li, 2022. "Environmental Regulation Competition and Carbon Emissions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(1), pages 1-28, December.
    17. Yaoxiaoxue Hong & Xianling Jiang & Beibei Shi & Chang Yu, 2022. "Do Fiscal Environmental Protection Expenditures Crowd Out Corporate Environmental Protection Investments?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-23, October.
    18. Shi, Jia & Jiao, Yuquan & Chen, Jihong & Ye, Jun & Gong, Jianwei, 2023. "A study on the evolution of competition pattern of inland container ports along the Yangtze River in China," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    19. Bazillier, Rémi & Hatte, Sophie & Vauday, Julien, 2017. "Are environmentally responsible firms less vulnerable when investing abroad? The role of reputation," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 45(3), pages 520-543.
    20. Wang, Jian & Wu, Qun & Yan, Siqi & Guo, Guancheng & Peng, Shangui, 2020. "China’s local governments breaking the land use planning quota: A strategic interaction perspective," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).

    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:20:y:2022:i:1:p:13-:d:1008783. 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.