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The Effect of Environmental Regulation on Employment in Resource-Based Areas of China—An Empirical Research Based on the Mediating Effect Model

Author

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  • Wenbin Cao

    (Department of Management Science and Engineering, School of Business, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, China)

  • Hui Wang

    (Department of Management Science and Engineering, School of Business, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, China)

  • Huihui Ying

    (Department of Management Science and Engineering, School of Business, Jiangnan University, 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi 214122, China)

Abstract

While environmental pollution is becoming more and more serious, many countries are adopting policies to control pollution. At the same time, the environmental regulation will inevitably affect economic and social development, especially employment growth. The environmental regulation will not only affect the scale of employment directly, but it will also have indirect effects by stimulating upgrades in the industrial structure and in technological innovation. This paper examines the impact of environmental regulation on employment, using a mediating model based on the data from five typical resource-based provinces in China from 2000 to 2015. The estimation is performed based on the system GMM (Generalized Method of Moments) estimator. The results show that the implementation of environmental regulation in resource-based areas has both a direct effect and a mediating effect on employment. These findings provide policy implications for these resource-based areas to promote the coordinating development between the environment and employment.

Suggested Citation

  • Wenbin Cao & Hui Wang & Huihui Ying, 2017. "The Effect of Environmental Regulation on Employment in Resource-Based Areas of China—An Empirical Research Based on the Mediating Effect Model," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 14(12), pages 1-11, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:14:y:2017:i:12:p:1598-:d:123481
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Di Chen & Yue Wang & Yang Wen & Honglin Du & Xue Tan & Lei Shi & Zhong Ma, 2021. "Does Environmental Policy Help Green Industry? Evidence from China’s Promotion of Municipal Solid Waste Sorting," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(6), pages 1-15, March.
    3. Song Wang & Yuyao Cao & Yifan Wang & Chaoquan Wang, 2024. "The Impact of Innovative and Low-Carbon Pilot Cities on Green Innovation," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(16), pages 1-29, August.
    4. Wanfu Jin & Chunshan Zhou, 2022. "Effect of Land Marketization Level and Land Prices on Foreign Direct Investment in China," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-20, August.
    5. Xinwei Zhao & Xinsong Yang & Geng Peng & Shengjie Yue, 2023. "International Trade and Carbon Emissions: Evaluating the Role of Trade Rule Uncertainty," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-19, July.
    6. Chanyuan Liu & Long Xin & Jinye Li & Huaping Sun, 2022. "The Impact of Renewable Energy Technology Innovation on Industrial Green Transformation and Upgrading: Beggar Thy Neighbor or Benefiting Thy Neighbor," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-28, September.
    7. Cao, June & Li, Wenwen & Hasan, Iftekhar, 2023. "The impact of lowering carbon emissions on corporate labour investment: A quasi-natural experiment," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 121(C).

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