Environmental decentralization, local governments’ environmental attention and environmental pollution: an empirical evidence from establishment of River Chief System in China

Qiang Li (), Youming Tang (), Wei Wei () and Wei Wei ()
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Qiang Li: Anhui University of Finance and Economics
Youming Tang: Anhui University of Finance and Economics
Wei Wei: Anhui University of Finance and Economics
Wei Wei: Anhui University of Finance and Economics

Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, 2024, vol. 26, issue 12, No 50, 31147-31173

Abstract: Abstract The optimization of the environmental management system holds the key to environmental improvement. Despite extensive studies in the past years, it is still an open question whether environmental policies should be centrally enforced. Thus, this paper, based on clarifying the relationship between environmental decentralization (ED) and river chief system (RCS), will elucidate the theoretical mechanism of the impact of ED on environmental pollution from the perspective of local governments’ environmental attention (LGEA). In addition, based on the panel data of 108 cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2003 to 2018, it will take the establishment of RCS as a quasi-natural experiment to explore the effect of ED on environmental pollution and the mediating effect of LGEA with the difference-in-difference method. The results show that ED exerts a lagged effect on reducing environmental pollution, and the effect increases over time. In terms of heterogeneity, the effect of ED on environmental pollution is immediately negative, and the negative effect increases over time in cities with high fiscal decentralization, but the effect is immediately positive and the positive effect decreases over time in cities with low fiscal decentralization. Lastly, the test of mediating effect indicates that ED can ultimately reduce environmental pollution by raising LGEA. This paper provides a new perspective for understanding the impact of ED on emission reduction.

Keywords: Environmental decentralization; Local governments’ environmental attention; Environmental pollution; River Chief System; Yangtze River Economic Belt (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1007/s10668-023-04424-1

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