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The impact of regional environmental amenity on skill aggregation across regions in developing countries: evidence from air pollution in China

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  • Seung-hun Chung

    (The Ohio State University)

Abstract

This paper investigates the impact of an environmental amenity on regional skill aggregation, defined as the share of highly educated people. I analyzed the impact of air quality on skill aggregation across prefecture-level cities in China using college graduates as the measure of skill aggregation. By exploiting exogenous air quality variation from a Chinese heating policy known as the Huai River Policy, I identified a considerable negative impact of air pollution on the share of high-skilled people in the city population. This indicates that an environmental amenity has considerable potential to influence regional growth even in developing countries.

Suggested Citation

  • Seung-hun Chung, 2020. "The impact of regional environmental amenity on skill aggregation across regions in developing countries: evidence from air pollution in China," Asia-Pacific Journal of Regional Science, Springer, vol. 4(1), pages 27-53, February.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:apjors:v:4:y:2020:i:1:d:10.1007_s41685-019-00125-8
    DOI: 10.1007/s41685-019-00125-8
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    Cited by:

    1. Min Zhang & Seung‐hun Chung, 2020. "Is air pollution detrimental to regional innovation? Evidence from Chinese cities," Growth and Change, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 51(4), pages 1657-1689, December.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Skill aggregation; Amenities; Regional growth;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O44 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity - - - Environment and Growth
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes
    • R23 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - Household Analysis - - - Regional Migration; Regional Labor Markets; Population
    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling

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