Informal Environment Regulation, Green Technology Innovation and Air Pollution: Quasi-Natural Experiments from Prefectural Cities in China

Xinghua Wang, Shunchen Wu, Xiaojuan Qin, Meixiang La and Haixia Zuo
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Xinghua Wang: School of Agricultural Economics and Management, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, China
Shunchen Wu: Rural Development Institute, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Beijing 100732, China
Xiaojuan Qin: School of Agricultural Economics and Management, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, China
Meixiang La: School of Agricultural Economics and Management, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, China
Haixia Zuo: School of Agricultural Economics and Management, Shanxi Agricultural University, Jinzhong 030801, China

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 10, 1-13

Abstract: Facing informal environment regulation carried out by the environmental protection organizations, we study and judge its inhibitory effect on air pollution and the acting path. Based on panel data of 285 cities in China from 1998 to 2018, a time-varying difference-in-difference model is used to estimate the effect of informal environment regulation on air pollution. The estimation results show that informal environment regulation can inhibit air pollution significantly under different scenarios. Green technology innovation is introduced into the research and a mediating effect model is used to investigate the influencing mechanism. Informal environment regulation strengthens pressure on pollutant emissions. This forces enterprises to enhance the investment and application of green technology innovation during production. Mechanism analysis shows that informal environment regulation inhibits air pollution by encouraging the application of green technology innovation. The above conclusions are still valid after a series of robustness tests, including parallel trend, placebo test and instrumental variables. The research conclusions provide empirical evidence for the construction of a diversified air-pollution control system and demonstrate the practical significance of informal environment regulation to improve air quality.

Keywords: informal environment regulation; green technology innovation; air pollution; time-varying difference-in-difference model; meditating effect model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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