Mechanism Study on the Impact of China Population Structure Change on the Water Use of the Three Main Industries

Shuangshuang Liu, Shuhan Gao, Wei-Ling Hsu, Yan-Chyuan Shiau and Hsin-Lung Liu
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Shuangshuang Liu: School of Marxism, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China
Shuhan Gao: School of Sociology and Population Science, Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunication, Nanjing 210023, China
Wei-Ling Hsu: School of Physics and Electronic Electrical Engineering, Huaiyin Normal University, Huai’an 223300, China
Yan-Chyuan Shiau: College of Architecture & Design, Chung Hua University, Hsinchu 30012, Taiwan
Hsin-Lung Liu: Graduate Institute Service Industries and Management, Minghsin University of Science and Technology, Hsinchu 30401, Taiwan

Sustainability, 2021, vol. 14, issue 1, 1-22

Abstract: As the principal part of economic and social development, the demographic factor is the fundamental factor driving the change of water resources, and achieving the harmony of human and water has been one of the most important tasks to promote high-quality development. Based on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory, this article applied panel data for 19 years and employed impulse response functions and threshold models to do a mechanism analysis of the impact of population structure changes on the water consumption changes of the three main industries. The study found the following: Firstly, the urban population promotes an increase of the total water consumption, industrial water consumption, and domestic water consumption, which suppresses agricultural water consumption and shows an inverted “ N ” trend. Secondly, the aging population has expanded the total water consumption, and agricultural and domestic water demand, and reduced industrial water consumption. Thirdly, food consumption helps to reduce the total water consumption and agricultural water consumption, but increases the industrial water consumption and the growth rate rises. Fourthly, the increase in the proportion of agricultural employment reduces the total water consumption, and agricultural and domestic water consumption, and increases industrial water consumption. Fifthly, the total water consumption and domestic water consumption both increase with the improvement of the population education level, while the agricultural water consumption declines first and then rises. The empirical results can provide a reference for analyzing the driving mechanisms of regional water consumption changes.

Keywords: population structure; water use of the three main industries; impulse response function; threshold effect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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