IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i12p7074-d834878.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

How Do Environmental Regulation and Environmental Decentralization Affect Regional Green Innovation? Empirical Research from China

Author

Listed:
  • Jing Tang

    (School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China)

  • Shilong Li

    (School of Management Science and Real Estate, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China
    Center for Construction Economy and Management, Chongqing University, Chongqing 400044, China)

Abstract

Green innovation is vital in transforming China’s economic development from high speed to high quality. Environmental regulation plays an important role in stimulating regional green innovation, and appropriate environmental decentralization is the institutional basis to consolidate the innovation compensation of environmental regulation. Clarifying the relationship among environmental regulation, environmental decentralization, and green innovation is of great theoretical and practical significance for regional environmental management and green innovation development. This paper incorporates environmental regulation, environmental decentralization, and regional green innovation into the same analytical framework and constructs a fixed-effects model and a threshold panel model to empirically examine the intrinsic relationship between them based on panel data of 30 Chinese provinces from 2006 to 2015. The estimation results indicate that environmental regulation has a positive impact on regional green innovation, which is greater in developed regions than in underdeveloped regions. Environmental decentralization plays a negative role in regional green innovation, with underdeveloped regions being affected to a greater extent. The impact of environmental regulation on regional green innovation shows a threshold characteristic with the change of the degree of environmental decentralization, while the green innovation utility of environmental regulation gradually decreases with the increase of the degree of environmental decentralization.

Suggested Citation

  • Jing Tang & Shilong Li, 2022. "How Do Environmental Regulation and Environmental Decentralization Affect Regional Green Innovation? Empirical Research from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-16, June.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:12:p:7074-:d:834878
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/12/7074/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/12/7074/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Ben Lockwood, 2002. "Distributive Politics and the Costs of Centralization," Review of Economic Studies, Oxford University Press, vol. 69(2), pages 313-337.
    2. Yoshihiro Hamaguchi, 2021. "Environmental policy effects: an R&D-based economic growth model with endogenous labour supply," Journal of Economic Policy Reform, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 24(2), pages 236-252, April.
    3. Costantini, Valeria & Crespi, Francesco, 2008. "Environmental regulation and the export dynamics of energy technologies," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2-3), pages 447-460, June.
    4. Brian J. Aitken & Ann E. Harrison, 2022. "Do Domestic Firms Benefit from Direct Foreign Investment? Evidence from Venezuela," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Globalization, Firms, and Workers, chapter 6, pages 139-152, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    5. List, John A. & Co, Catherine Y., 2000. "The Effects of Environmental Regulations on Foreign Direct Investment," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 40(1), pages 1-20, July.
    6. Kunce, Mitch & Shogren, Jason F., 2007. "Destructive interjurisdictional competition: Firm, capital and labor mobility in a model of direct emission control," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(3), pages 543-549, January.
    7. Ouyang, Xiaoling & Li, Qiong & Du, Kerui, 2020. "How does environmental regulation promote technological innovations in the industrial sector? Evidence from Chinese provincial panel data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    8. Sonia Ben Kheder & Natalia Zugravu, 2008. "The pollution haven hypothesis: a geographic economy model in a comparative study," Documents de travail du Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne v08083, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1), Centre d'Economie de la Sorbonne.
    9. Silva, Emilson C. D. & Caplan, Arthur J., 1997. "Transboundary Pollution Control in Federal Systems," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 34(2), pages 173-186, October.
    10. Chu, Hsun & Lai, Ching-chong, 2014. "Abatement R&D, market imperfections, and environmental policy in an endogenous growth model," Journal of Economic Dynamics and Control, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 20-37.
    11. Zhang, Ning & Yu, Keren & Chen, Zhongfei, 2017. "How does urbanization affect carbon dioxide emissions? A cross-country panel data analysis," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 678-687.
    12. Xie, Xuemei & Huo, Jiage & Zou, Hailiang, 2019. "Green process innovation, green product innovation, and corporate financial performance: A content analysis method," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 697-706.
    13. Fredriksson, Per G. & Wollscheid, Jim R., 2014. "Environmental decentralization and political centralization," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 402-410.
    14. Wenhao Song & Hongyan Yu, 2018. "Green Innovation Strategy and Green Innovation: The Roles of Green Creativity and Green Organizational Identity," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 25(2), pages 135-150, March.
    15. Zhang, Kun & Zhang, Zong-Yong & Liang, Qiao-Mei, 2017. "An empirical analysis of the green paradox in China: From the perspective of fiscal decentralization," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 103(C), pages 203-211.
    16. André Grimaud & Luc Rouge, 2008. "Environment, Directed Technical Change and Economic Policy," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 41(4), pages 439-463, December.
    17. Wang, Yun & Sun, Xiaohua & Guo, Xu, 2019. "Environmental regulation and green productivity growth: Empirical evidence on the Porter Hypothesis from OECD industrial sectors," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 611-619.
    18. Ying Wang & Richard T. Woodward & Jing-Yue Liu, 2022. "The Impact of Exogenous Pollution on Green Innovation," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 81(1), pages 1-24, January.
    19. Bert Saveyn & Stef Proost, 2008. "Energy-Tax Reform with Vertical Tax Externalities," FinanzArchiv: Public Finance Analysis, Mohr Siebeck, Tübingen, vol. 64(1), pages 63-86, March.
    20. Brennan,Geoffrey & Buchanan,James M., 2006. "The Power to Tax," Cambridge Books, Cambridge University Press, number 9780521027922.
    21. Jacobsen, Grant D. & Kotchen, Matthew J. & Vandenbergh, Michael P., 2012. "The behavioral response to voluntary provision of an environmental public good: Evidence from residential electricity demand," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(5), pages 946-960.
    22. Song, Malin & Du, Juntao & Tan, Kim Hua, 2018. "Impact of fiscal decentralization on green total factor productivity," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 359-367.
    23. Zhao, Jing & Zhao, Ziru & Zhang, Huan, 2021. "The impact of growth, energy and financial development on environmental pollution in China: New evidence from a spatial econometric analysis," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(C).
    24. Grimaud, Andre & Tournemaine, Frederic, 2007. "Why can an environmental policy tax promote growth through the channel of education?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 62(1), pages 27-36, April.
    25. Li, Jianglong & Lin, Boqiang, 2017. "Ecological total-factor energy efficiency of China's heavy and light industries: Which performs better?," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 72(C), pages 83-94.
    26. Qian, Yingyi & Roland, Gerard, 1998. "Federalism and the Soft Budget Constraint," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 88(5), pages 1143-1162, December.
    27. Du, Kerui & Cheng, Yuanyuan & Yao, Xin, 2021. "Environmental regulation, green technology innovation, and industrial structure upgrading: The road to the green transformation of Chinese cities," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    28. Jun-liang Du & Yong Liu & Wei-xue Diao, 2019. "Assessing Regional Differences in Green Innovation Efficiency of Industrial Enterprises in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(6), pages 1-23, March.
    29. Mohammad Reza Farzanegan & Tim Mennel, 2012. "Fiscal decentralization and Pollution: Institutions Matter," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201222, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    30. Sjöberg, Eric & Xu, Jing, 2018. "An Empirical Study of US Environmental Federalism: RCRA Enforcement From 1998 to 2011," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 253-263.
    31. Pei Wang & Cong Dong & Nan Chen & Ming Qi & Shucheng Yang & Amuji Bridget Nnenna & Wenxin Li, 2021. "Environmental Regulation, Government Subsidies, and Green Technology Innovation—A Provincial Panel Data Analysis from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(22), pages 1-19, November.
    32. Jianming Zhang & Gongqian Liang & Taiwen Feng & Chunlin Yuan & Wenbo Jiang, 2020. "Green innovation to respond to environmental regulation: How external knowledge adoption and green absorptive capacity matter?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(1), pages 39-53, January.
    33. Harford, Jon D., 1978. "Firm behavior under imperfectly enforceable pollution standards and taxes," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 5(1), pages 26-43, March.
    34. Lu, Xin-hai & Jiang, Xu & Gong, Meng-qi, 2020. "How land transfer marketization influence on green total factor productivity from the approach of industrial structure? Evidence from China," Land Use Policy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C).
    35. Shuai Shao & Zhigao Hu & Jianhua Cao & Lili Yang & Dabo Guan, 2020. "Environmental Regulation and Enterprise Innovation: A Review," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(3), pages 1465-1478, March.
    36. Sigman, Hilary, 2005. "Transboundary spillovers and decentralization of environmental policies," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 82-101, July.
    37. Min Hong & Zhenghui Li & Benjamin Drakeford, 2021. "Do the Green Credit Guidelines Affect Corporate Green Technology Innovation? Empirical Research from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(4), pages 1-21, February.
    38. Minoru Nakada, 2004. "Does Environmental Policy Necessarily Discourage Growth?," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 81(3), pages 249-275, March.
    39. Hang Wu & Yiying Qu, 2021. "How Do Firms Promote Green Innovation through International Mergers and Acquisitions: The Moderating Role of Green Image and Green Subsidy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-16, July.
    40. Wurlod, Jules-Daniel & Noailly, Joëlle, 2018. "The impact of green innovation on energy intensity: An empirical analysis for 14 industrial sectors in OECD countries," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 47-61.
    41. Albrizio, Silvia & Kozluk, Tomasz & Zipperer, Vera, 2017. "Environmental policies and productivity growth: Evidence across industries and firms," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 209-226.
    42. Stefania Lovo, 2014. "The effect of environmental decentralization on polluting industries in India," GRI Working Papers 143, Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
    43. Sun, Chuanwang & Zhan, Yanhong & Du, Gang, 2020. "Can value-added tax incentives of new energy industry increase firm's profitability? Evidence from financial data of China's listed companies," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    44. Minoru Nakada, 2010. "Environmental Tax Reform and Growth: Income Tax Cuts or Profits Tax Reduction," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 47(4), pages 549-565, December.
    45. Hamamoto, Mitsutsugu, 2006. "Environmental regulation and the productivity of Japanese manufacturing industries," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 299-312, November.
    46. Grooms, Katherine K., 2015. "Enforcing the Clean Water Act: The effect of state-level corruption on compliance," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 50-78.
    47. Zhihua Tian & Yanfang Tian & Yang Chen & Shuai Shao, 2020. "The economic consequences of environmental regulation in China: From a perspective of the environmental protection admonishing talk policy," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(4), pages 1723-1733, May.
    48. Feng, Suling & Sui, Bo & Liu, Huimin & Li, Guoxiang, 2020. "Environmental decentralization and innovation in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 660-674.
    49. Manello, Alessandro, 2017. "Productivity growth, environmental regulation and win–win opportunities: The case of chemical industry in Italy and Germany," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 262(2), pages 733-743.
    50. Yingyuan Guo & Xingneng Xia & Sheng Zhang & Danping Zhang, 2018. "Environmental Regulation, Government R&D Funding and Green Technology Innovation: Evidence from China Provincial Data," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-21, March.
    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. Xiaojun Sun & Jing Tang & Shilong Li, 2022. "Promote Green Innovation in Manufacturing Enterprises in the Aspect of Government Subsidies in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-16, June.
    2. Haiying Shao & Bowen Li & Yanjun Jiang, 2023. "Effect and Mechanism of Environmental Decentralization on Pollution Emission from Pig Farming—Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(10), pages 1-15, May.
    3. Xiao Han & Yining Chen & Hehua Zhao, 2023. "Temporal–Spatial Evolution, Influencing Factors, and Driving Mechanisms of Environmental Regulation Performance Disparities: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-26, July.
    4. Mingxing Li & Xinxing Wang & Zihao Wang & Babar Maqbool & Abid Hussain & Waris Ali Khan, 2022. "Bibliometric Analysis of the Research on the Impact of Environmental Regulation on Green Technology Innovation Based on CiteSpace," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-26, October.

    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. Wu, Haitao & Hao, Yu & Ren, Siyu, 2020. "How do environmental regulation and environmental decentralization affect green total factor energy efficiency: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    2. Xie, Ronghui & Teo, Thompson S.H., 2022. "Green technology innovation, environmental externality, and the cleaner upgrading of industrial structure in China — Considering the moderating effect of environmental regulation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    3. Xiaosan Zhang & Xiaojie Hu & Fang Wu, 2022. "Fiscal Decentralization, Taxation Efforts and Corporate Green Technology Innovation in China Based on Moderating and Heterogeneity Effects," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(22), pages 1-21, November.
    4. Du, Minzhe & Liu, Yunxiao & Wang, Bing & Lee, Myunghun & Zhang, Ning, 2021. "The sources of regulated productivity in Chinese power plants: An estimation of the restricted cost function combined with DEA approach," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 100(C).
    5. Xinze Li & Luojia Wang & Kerui Du, 2023. "How do environmental regulations influence resource misallocation in China? The role of investment flows," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(1), pages 538-550, January.
    6. Yu-Hong Ai & Di-Yun Peng & Huan-Huan Xiong, 2021. "Impact of Environmental Regulation Intensity on Green Technology Innovation: From the Perspective of Political and Business Connections," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-23, April.
    7. Sailian Xia & Daming You & Zhihua Tang & Bo Yang, 2021. "Analysis of the Spatial Effect of Fiscal Decentralization and Environmental Decentralization on Carbon Emissions under the Pressure of Officials’ Promotion," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-21, March.
    8. Qi, Xiulin & Wu, Zhifang & Xu, Jinqing & Shan, Biaoan, 2023. "Environmental justice and green innovation: A quasi-natural experiment based on the establishment of environmental courts in China," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    9. Hongshan Ai & Shenglan Hu & Ke Li & Shuai Shao, 2020. "Environmental regulation, total factor productivity, and enterprise duration: Evidence from China," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 29(6), pages 2284-2296, September.
    10. Muyao Li & Jinsong Zhang & Ramakrishnan Ramanathan & Ruiqian Li, 2020. "Opening the Black Box: The Impacts of Environmental Regulations on Technological Innovation," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(12), pages 1-18, June.
    11. Meng Lingyan & Ze Zhao & Haider Ali Malik & Asif Razzaq & Hui An & Marria Hassan, 2022. "Asymmetric impact of fiscal decentralization and environmental innovation on carbon emissions: Evidence from highly decentralized countries," Energy & Environment, , vol. 33(4), pages 752-782, June.
    12. Zhang, Dan & Zheng, Mingbo & Feng, Gen-Fu & Chang, Chun-Ping, 2022. "Does an environmental policy bring to green innovation in renewable energy?," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C), pages 1113-1124.
    13. Haiqing Hu & Di Chen & Chun‐Ping Chang & Yin Chu, 2021. "The Political Economy Of Environmental Consequences: A Review Of The Empirical Literature," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 35(1), pages 250-306, February.
    14. Lena, Daniela & Pasurka, Carl A. & Cucculelli, Marco, 2022. "Environmental regulation and green productivity growth: Evidence from Italian manufacturing industries," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    15. Gangqiang Yang & Ziyu Ding & Haisen Wang & Lingli Zou, 2023. "Can environmental regulation improve firm total factor productivity? The mediating effects of credit resource allocation," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 25(7), pages 6799-6827, July.
    16. Feng, Suling & Sui, Bo & Liu, Huimin & Li, Guoxiang, 2020. "Environmental decentralization and innovation in China," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 93(C), pages 660-674.
    17. Yinuo Wang & Fengxiu Zhou & Huwei Wen, 2023. "Does Environmental Decentralization Promote Renewable Energy Development? A Local Government Competition Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-18, July.
    18. Sa Xu & Cunyi Yang & Zhehao Huang & Pierre Failler, 2022. "Interaction between Digital Economy and Environmental Pollution: New Evidence from a Spatial Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-23, April.
    19. Lv, Chengchao & Shao, Changhua & Lee, Chien-Chiang, 2021. "Green technology innovation and financial development: Do environmental regulation and innovation output matter?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    20. Yuanshuo Xu & Jiahe Liang & Zhaoyingzi Dong & Minjun Shi, 2022. "Can Environmental Regulation Promote Green Innovation and Productivity? The Moderating Role of Government Interventions in Urban China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-17, October.

    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:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:12:p:7074-:d:834878. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.