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Marketization, environmental regulation, and eco-friendly productivity: A Malmquist–Luenberger index for pollution emissions of large Chinese firms

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  • Zhang, Dongyang

Abstract

Marketization requires individuals and firms to increase energy efficiency and improve environmental quality, and various levels of governments interested in environmental protection have adopted tough environmental regulations. This paper develops data envelopment analysis (DEA) to measure unified efficiency at the firm level by introducing energy utilization and pollution emissions. A Malmquist–Luenberger efficiency model with undesirable output follows radial measurement by directional distance function type. We analyze green productive efficiency in relation to polluting emissions using a large dynamic panel dataset of 229,491 Chinese manufacturing firms from 1998 to 2012. We identify that marketization and environmental regulation both significantly facilitate green productivity. Further, our findings imply that both marketization and regulatory effects weakened from the tenth to the twelfth Five-Year Plans. Regarding effects across ownership type, green total factor productivity (TFP) growth of state-owned enterprises is significantly affected by regulation but not marketization. Private and foreign-owned firms are both significantly affected by marketization and regulation. Regionally, green TFP growth is positively associated with marketization and regulation in central China. East China’s green TFP growth is motivated by marketization, and West China’s green TFP growth is strongly driven by regulation.

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  • Zhang, Dongyang, 2021. "Marketization, environmental regulation, and eco-friendly productivity: A Malmquist–Luenberger index for pollution emissions of large Chinese firms," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 76(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:asieco:v:76:y:2021:i:c:s1049007821000713
    DOI: 10.1016/j.asieco.2021.101342
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    5. Wang Rongjuan, 2023. "How multiple interactions between policy instruments and the policy environment affect environmental governance efficiency," Energy & Environment, , vol. 34(3), pages 621-639, May.
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    8. Zhang, Dongyang, 2022. "Environmental regulation, green innovation, and export product quality: What is the role of greenwashing?," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 83(C).
    9. Xianpu Xu & Xiawan Li & Lin Zheng, 2022. "A Blessing or a Curse? Exploring the Impact of Environmental Regulation on China’s Regional Green Development from the Perspective of Governance Transformation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-24, January.

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