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New Evidence on the Soft Budget Constraint: Chinese Environmental Policy Effectiveness in Private versus SOEs

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  • Mathilde Maurel

    (CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)

  • Thomas Pernet-Coudrier

    (CES - Centre d'économie de la Sorbonne - UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, UP1 - Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne)

Abstract

This paper analyses the efficiency of a set of environmental measures introduced by the 11th FYP (Five Years Plan) in China in 2006, using a rich and unique dataset borrowed from the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP) and from the State Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA). The objective is to provide new evidence of the Soft Budget Constraint (SBC), which is a key concept coined by Janos Kornai. The main finding is that TCZ (Two Control Zone) cities are successful in bringing down the emission of SO2, and more importantly that this success is driven by the private sector. Sectors dominated by State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) are less sensitive to the environmental target-based evaluation system, by a factor of 42%. We also find that one channel, through which this adjustment takes place, is Total Factor Productivity (TFP), but not in the case of SOEs. We interpret these results as pointing to the evidence of a still ongoing SBC surrounding Chinese SOEs.

Suggested Citation

  • Mathilde Maurel & Thomas Pernet-Coudrier, 2020. "New Evidence on the Soft Budget Constraint: Chinese Environmental Policy Effectiveness in Private versus SOEs," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-02469382, HAL.
    • Handle: RePEc:hal:cesptp:halshs-02469382
    Note: View the original document on HAL open archive server: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-02469382
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    3. Aleksander Grad & Jakub Karnowski & Andrzej Rzońca, 2022. "Jak powiązać prywatyzację i rozwój filara kapitałowego w systemie emerytalnym – propozycja," Ekonomista, Polskie Towarzystwo Ekonomiczne, issue 4, pages 484-508.
    4. Mehrdad Vahabi, 2022. "In Janos Kornai’s memory," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 190(3), pages 265-271, March.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Environmental regulation; China Kornai; Soft Budget Constraint;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q53 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • P2 - Political Economy and Comparative Economic Systems - - Socialist and Transition Economies
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

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