IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/asieco/v48y2017icp148-159.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Pollution control and foreign firms’ exit behavior in China

Author

Listed:
  • Greaney, Theresa M.
  • Li, Yao
  • Tu, Dongmei

Abstract

China faces a common dilemma of how to maintain rapid economic growth while also reducing the pollution that has accompanied growth. Will stricter pollution controls drive away the foreign firms that have helped spur growth in China? This paper studies the effects of the Two-Control-Zone (TCZ) pollution control policy on foreign firms’ exit behavior in China. Based on firm-level data from 1998 to 2009, we find that foreign firms’ responses are not significantly different from domestic firms on average once environmental regulations impose an added cost of business. However, foreign firms’ responses to stricter pollution controls tend to differ based on various firm characteristics. Our estimation indicates that larger size, higher productivity and exporting all make foreign firms less likely to exit than similar domestic firms in regions with stricter pollution control.

Suggested Citation

  • Greaney, Theresa M. & Li, Yao & Tu, Dongmei, 2017. "Pollution control and foreign firms’ exit behavior in China," Journal of Asian Economics, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 148-159.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:asieco:v:48:y:2017:i:c:p:148-159
    DOI: 10.1016/j.asieco.2016.10.006
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1049007816301452
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.asieco.2016.10.006?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Blackman, Allen & Wu, Xun, 1999. "Foreign direct investment in china's power sector: trends, benefits and barriers," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 27(12), pages 695-711, November.
    2. Randy Becker & Vernon Henderson, 2000. "Effects of Air Quality Regulations on Polluting Industries," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 108(2), pages 379-421, April.
    3. Markusen James R. & Morey Edward R. & Olewiler Nancy D., 1993. "Environmental Policy when Market Structure and Plant Locations Are Endogenous," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 24(1), pages 69-86, January.
    4. Arik Levinson & M. Scott Taylor, 2008. "Unmasking The Pollution Haven Effect," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 49(1), pages 223-254, February.
    5. Gabriel Y. Weintraub & C. Lanier Benkard & Benjamin Van Roy, 2008. "Markov Perfect Industry Dynamics With Many Firms," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 76(6), pages 1375-1411, November.
    6. Fabrice Defever & Alejandro Riaño, 2012. "China's Pure Exporter Subsidies," CEP Discussion Papers dp1182, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    7. Javorcik Beata Smarzynska & Wei Shang-Jin, 2003. "Pollution Havens and Foreign Direct Investment: Dirty Secret or Popular Myth?," The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 3(2), pages 1-34, December.
    8. Pierre Blanchard & Jean-Pierre Huiban & Claude Mathieu, 2012. "The determinants of firm exit in the French food industries," Review of Agricultural and Environmental Studies - Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement, INRA Department of Economics, vol. 93(2), pages 193-212.
    9. Judith M. Dean & Mary E. Lovely & Hua Wang, 2017. "Are foreign investors attracted to weak environmental regulations? Evaluating the evidence from China," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Mary E Lovely (ed.), International Economic Integration and Domestic Performance, chapter 9, pages 155-167, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    10. Richard Ericson & Ariel Pakes, 1995. "Markov-Perfect Industry Dynamics: A Framework for Empirical Work," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 62(1), pages 53-82.
    11. Eskeland, Gunnar S. & Harrison, Ann E., 2003. "Moving to greener pastures? Multinationals and the pollution haven hypothesis," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(1), pages 1-23, February.
    12. Robert Elliott & Ying Zhou, 2013. "Environmental Regulation Induced Foreign Direct Investment," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 55(1), pages 141-158, May.
    13. Wolfgang Keller & Arik Levinson, 2002. "Pollution Abatement Costs and Foreign Direct Investment Inflows to U.S. States," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 84(4), pages 691-703, November.
    14. Cole, Matthew A. & Elliott, Robert J.R. & Strobl, Eric, 2008. "The environmental performance of firms: The role of foreign ownership, training, and experience," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(3), pages 538-546, April.
    15. Theresa M. Greaney & Yao Li, 2013. "Trade, Foreign Direct Investment and Wage Inequality in China: A Heterogeneous Firms Approach," China Economic Policy Review (CEPR), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 2(02), pages 1-49.
    16. Pierre Blanchard & Jean-Pierre Huiban & Claude Mathieu, 2012. "The determinants of firm exit in the French food industries," Review of Agricultural and Environmental Studies - Revue d'Etudes en Agriculture et Environnement, INRA Department of Economics, vol. 93(2), pages 193-212.
    17. Mr. Harm Zebregs & Ms. Wanda S Tseng, 2002. "Foreign Direct Investment in China: Some Lessons for Other Countries," IMF Policy Discussion Papers 2002/003, International Monetary Fund.
    18. repec:clg:wpaper:2008-02 is not listed on IDEAS
    19. Zwiebel, Jeffrey, 1996. "Dynamic Capital Structure under Managerial Entrenchment," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(5), pages 1197-1215, December.
    20. Henderson, J Vernon, 1996. "Effects of Air Quality Regulation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 86(4), pages 789-813, September.
    21. Olley, G Steven & Pakes, Ariel, 1996. "The Dynamics of Productivity in the Telecommunications Equipment Industry," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 64(6), pages 1263-1297, November.
    22. Marc J. Melitz, 2003. "The Impact of Trade on Intra-Industry Reallocations and Aggregate Industry Productivity," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 71(6), pages 1695-1725, November.
    23. Harris, Milton & Raviv, Artur, 1991. "The Theory of Capital Structure," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 46(1), pages 297-355, March.
    24. Laura Hering & Sandra Poncet, 2011. "Environmental policy and trade performance: Evidence from China," Working Papers 2011-30, CEPII research center.
    25. Levinson, Arik, 1996. "Environmental regulations and manufacturers' location choices: Evidence from the Census of Manufactures," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1-2), pages 5-29, October.
    26. Tang, Erzi & Liu, Fengchao & Zhang, Jingjing & Yu, Jiao, 2014. "A model to analyze the environmental policy of resource reallocation and pollution control based on firms' heterogeneity," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 39(C), pages 88-91.
    27. Jiangyong Lu & Yi Lu & Zhigang Tao, 2014. "Pure Exporter: Theory and Evidence from China," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 37(9), pages 1219-1236, September.
    28. Chung, Sunghoon, 2014. "Environmental regulation and foreign direct investment: Evidence from South Korea," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 108(C), pages 222-236.
    29. Kellenberg, Derek K., 2009. "An empirical investigation of the pollution haven effect with strategic environment and trade policy," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(2), pages 242-255, July.
    30. K. C. Fung & Hitomi Iizaka & Sarah Tong, 2004. "Foreign direct investment in China: Policy, recent trend and impact," Global Economic Review, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 33(2), pages 99-130.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Rui Pang & Minjun Shi & Dan Zheng, 2022. "Who comply better? The moderating role of firm heterogeneity on the performance of environmental regulation in China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(5), pages 6302-6326, May.
    2. Chuanchuan Li & Lei Li & Haodan Tang & Yanyan Zheng & Fangming Gong, 2023. "Human Capital Development and Its Influence on FDI Withdrawal: An Empirical Analysis," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 31(5), pages 116-134, September.
    3. Shufen Guo & Ludi Wen & Yanrui Wu & Xiaohang Yue & Guilian Fan, 2020. "Fiscal Decentralization and Local Environmental Pollution in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(22), pages 1-17, November.
    4. Wang, Enci & Su, Bin & Zhong, Sheng & Guo, Qinxin, 2022. "China's Embodied SO2 Emissions and Aggregate Embodied SO2 Intensities in Interprovincial and International Trade," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    5. Dongmei Tu & Yao Li & Yong Zeng, 2019. "The Effects Of Environmental Regulation On Exporters’ Exiting Behavior: The Evidence From China," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(02), pages 301-321, March.
    6. Jiangfeng Hu & Zhao Wang & Qinghua Huang & Xiaoqin Zhang, 2019. "Environmental Regulation Intensity, Foreign Direct Investment, and Green Technology Spillover—An Empirical Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-15, May.
    7. Yusen Gao & Changsheng Hu & Yue Yang, 2022. "Will tougher environmental policy reduce the employment of industrial enterprises? The heterogeneity analysis based on enterprise level and city level," Managerial and Decision Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 43(6), pages 1810-1834, September.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Sylwia Bialek & Alfons J. Weichenrieder, 2021. "Do Stringent Environmental Policies Deter FDI? M&A versus Greenfield," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 80(3), pages 603-636, November.
    2. Shi, Xinzheng & Xu, Zhufeng, 2018. "Environmental regulation and firm exports: Evidence from the eleventh Five-Year Plan in China," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 187-200.
    3. Edward Manderson & Richard Kneller, 2012. "Environmental Regulations, Outward FDI and Heterogeneous Firms: Are Countries Used as Pollution Havens?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 51(3), pages 317-352, March.
    4. Yanyun Li & Faqin Lin & Wenxiao Wang, 2022. "Environmental regulation and inward foreign direct investment: Evidence from the eleventh Five‐Year Plan in China," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 36(3), pages 684-707, July.
    5. Wang, Qian & Zhu, Linke, 2021. "Environmental regulation, firm heterogeneity, and intra-industry reallocation," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 68(C).
    6. Jota Ishikawa & Toshihiro Okubo, 2017. "Greenhouse-Gas Emission Controls and Firm Locations in North–South Trade," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 67(4), pages 637-660, August.
    7. Cai, Xiqian & Lu, Yi & Wu, Mingqin & Yu, Linhui, 2016. "Does environmental regulation drive away inbound foreign direct investment? Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 73-85.
    8. Antoine Dechezleprêtre & Misato Sato, 2017. "The Impacts of Environmental Regulations on Competitiveness," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 11(2), pages 183-206.
    9. Lu, Yi & Wu, Mingqin & Yu, Linhui, 2012. "Is There a Pollution Haven Effect? Evidence from a Natural Experiment in China," MPRA Paper 38787, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    10. Brucal, Arlan & Javorcik, Beata & Love, Inessa, 2019. "Good for the environment, good for business: Foreign acquisitions and energy intensity," Journal of International Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).
    11. Robert Elliott & Ying Zhou, 2013. "Environmental Regulation Induced Foreign Direct Investment," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 55(1), pages 141-158, May.
    12. Yuqing Ge & Yucai Hu & Shenggang Ren, 2020. "Environmental Regulation and Foreign Direct Investment: Evidence from China’s Eleventh and Twelfth Five-Year Plans," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(6), pages 1-18, March.
    13. Koch, Nicolas & Basse Mama, Houdou, 2019. "Does the EU Emissions Trading System induce investment leakage? Evidence from German multinational firms," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 479-492.
    14. Judith M. Dean & Mary E. Lovely & Hua Wang, 2017. "Are foreign investors attracted to weak environmental regulations? Evaluating the evidence from China," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Mary E Lovely (ed.), International Economic Integration and Domestic Performance, chapter 9, pages 155-167, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    15. Baomin Dong & Jiong Gong & Xin Zhao, 2012. "FDI and environmental regulation: pollution haven or a race to the top?," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 41(2), pages 216-237, April.
    16. Choi, Gunae, 2022. "Determinants of target location selection for acquirers in the manufacturing sector: Pollution intensity, policy enforcement, and civic environmentalism," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 146(C), pages 308-324.
    17. Grégoire Garsous & Tomasz Kozluk, 2017. "Foreign Direct Investment and The Pollution Haven Hypothesis: Evidence from Listed Firms," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 1379, OECD Publishing.
    18. Jitao Tang, 2015. "Testing the Pollution Haven Effect: Does the Type of FDI Matter?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 60(4), pages 549-578, April.
    19. Jevan M. Cherniwchan & M. Scott Taylor, 2022. "International Trade and the Environment: Three Remaining Empirical Challenges," NBER Working Papers 30020, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    20. Dongmei Tu & Yao Li & Yong Zeng, 2019. "The Effects Of Environmental Regulation On Exporters’ Exiting Behavior: The Evidence From China," The Singapore Economic Review (SER), World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd., vol. 64(02), pages 301-321, March.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Foreign direct investment; Pollution control; Firm exiting; Export;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • F18 - International Economics - - Trade - - - Trade and Environment
    • F23 - International Economics - - International Factor Movements and International Business - - - Multinational Firms; International Business
    • L25 - Industrial Organization - - Firm Objectives, Organization, and Behavior - - - Firm Performance
    • 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

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:asieco:v:48:y:2017:i:c:p:148-159. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/asieco .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.