Centralization of environmental administration and air pollution: Evidence from China

Jidong Chen, Xinzheng Shi, Ming-ang Zhang and Sihan Zhang

Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 2024, vol. 126, issue C

Abstract: This paper studies how centralizing environmental administration affects air pollution in China. China launched a reform in 2016 to empower upper-level environmental protection bureaus to administer lower-level bureaus vertically through personnel control. Exploiting a stacked difference-in-differences strategy, we find that the reform significantly reduced air pollution. The effect was stronger in places where pollution was less likely to be affected by spillovers from other provinces, where local governments initially paid less attention to environmental protection, and where there was less economic importance. Further analysis shows that the reform reduced pollution by strengthening the pollution reduction incentives of local environmental officials, increasing the intensity of local environmental inspection, and promoting environmental compliance by polluting firms.

Keywords: Verticalization reform; Centralization; Air pollution; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H11 H77 Q58 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jeeman:v:126:y:2024:i:c:s0095069624000901

DOI: 10.1016/j.jeem.2024.103016

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