Regional Differences, Dynamic Evolution and Driving Factors Analysis of PM 2.5 in the Yangtze River Economic Belt

Weiguang Wang and Yangyang Wang ()
Additional contact information
Weiguang Wang: School of Economics, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036, China
Yangyang Wang: School of Economics, Liaoning University, Shenyang 110036, China

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 4, 1-24

Abstract: The proposal of a “dual-carbon” goal puts forward higher requirements for air pollution control. Identifying the spatial-temporal characteristics, regional differences, dynamic evolution, and driving factors of PM 2.5 are the keys to formulating targeted haze reduction measures and ameliorating air quality. Therefore, adopting the Dagum Gini Coefficient and its decomposition method, the Kernel Density Estimation model, and spatial quantile regression model, this study analyzes the regional differences, dynamic evolution, and driving factors of PM 2.5 concentrations (PM 2.5 ) in the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) and the upstream, midstream, and downstream (the three regions) from 2003 to 2018. The study shows that: (1) PM 2.5 in the YREB was characterized by increasing first and then decreasing, with evident heterogeneity and spatial agglomeration characteristics. (2) Inter-regional differences and intensity of trans-variation were the primary sources of PM 2.5 differences. (3) The density curve of PM 2.5 shifted to the left in the YREB and the upstream, midstream, and midstream, suggesting that PM 2.5 has declined. (4) Industrial service level (IS) and financial expenditure scale (FES) exerted a significant and negative effect on PM 2.5 across the quantiles. On the contrary, population density (PD) showed a significant and positive influence. Except for the 75th quantile, the technology level (TEC) significantly inhibited PM 2.5 . The remaining variables had a heterogeneous impact on PM 2.5 at different quantiles. The above results suggest that regional joint prevention and control mechanisms, collaborative governance mechanisms, and comprehensive policy mix mechanisms should be established to cope with PM 2.5 pollution and achieve green, sustainable economic development of the YREB.

Keywords: PM 2.5; spatial-temporal heterogeneity; driving factors; spatial quantile regression model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/4/3381/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/15/4/3381/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:15:y:2023:i:4:p:3381-:d:1066417

Access Statistics for this article

Sustainability is currently edited by Ms. Alexandra Wu

More articles in Sustainability from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().