IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v11y2019i2p324-d196475.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Does Whistleblowing Work for Air Pollution Control in China? A Study Based on Three-party Evolutionary Game Model under Incomplete Information

Author

Listed:
  • Yunpeng Yang

    (Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China
    Yunpeng Yang and Weixin Yang are joint first authors. They contributed equally to this paper.)

  • Weixin Yang

    (Business School, University of Shanghai for Science and Technology, Shanghai 200093, China
    Yunpeng Yang and Weixin Yang are joint first authors. They contributed equally to this paper.)

Abstract

During China’s air pollution campaign, whistleblowing has become an important way for the central government to discover local environmental issues. The three parties involved in whistleblowing are: the central government environmental protection departments, the local government officials, and the whistleblowers. Based on these players, this paper has constructed an Evolutionary Game Model under incomplete information and introduced the expected return as well as replicator dynamics equations of various game agents based on analysis of the game agents, assumptions, and payoff functions of the model in order to study the strategic dynamic trend and stability of the evolutionary game model. Furthermore, this paper has conducted simulation experiments on the evolution of game agents’ behaviors by combining the constraints and replicator dynamics equations. The conclusions are: the central environmental protection departments are able to effectively improve the environmental awareness of local government officials by measures such as strengthening punishment on local governments that do not pay attention to pollution issues and lowering the cost of whistleblowing, thus nurturing a good governance and virtuous circle among the central environmental protection departments, local government officials, and whistleblowers. Based on the study above, this paper has provided policy recommendations in the conclusion.

Suggested Citation

  • Yunpeng Yang & Weixin Yang, 2019. "Does Whistleblowing Work for Air Pollution Control in China? A Study Based on Three-party Evolutionary Game Model under Incomplete Information," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-20, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:2:p:324-:d:196475
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/2/324/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/11/2/324/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Zhang, Bing & Chen, Xiaolan & Guo, Huanxiu, 2018. "Does central supervision enhance local environmental enforcement? Quasi-experimental evidence from China," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 164(C), pages 70-90.
    2. Cull, Robert & Xu, Lixin Colin & Yang, Xi & Zhou, Li-An & Zhu, Tian, 2017. "Market facilitation by local government and firm efficiency: Evidence from China," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 460-480.
    3. Rong Liu & Xiaojun Liu & Bingbing Pan & Hui Zhu & Zhaokang Yuan & Yuanan Lu, 2018. "Willingness to Pay for Improved Air Quality and Influencing Factors among Manufacturing Workers in Nanchang, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-11, May.
    4. Si-hua Chen, 2017. "An Evolutionary Game Study of an Ecological Industry Chain Based on Multi-Agent Simulation: A Case Study of the Poyang Lake Eco-Economic Zone," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(7), pages 1-27, July.
    5. Wenyang Huang & Huiwen Wang & Yigang Wei, 2018. "Endogenous or Exogenous? Examining Trans-Boundary Air Pollution by Using the Air Quality Index (AQI): A Case Study of 30 Provinces and Autonomous Regions in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-20, November.
    6. Jia, Shuwei & Liu, Xiaolu & Yan, Guangle, 2019. "Effect of APCF policy on the haze pollution in China: A system dynamics approach," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 33-44.
    7. Jie Jin & Jun Zhuang & Qiuhong Zhao, 2018. "Supervision after Certification: An Evolutionary Game Analysis for Chinese Environmental Labeled Enterprises," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-22, May.
    8. Lei Gao & Zhen-Yu Zhao, 2018. "System Dynamics Analysis of Evolutionary Game Strategies between the Government and Investors Based on New Energy Power Construction Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) Project," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-17, July.
    9. Qiuxiang Li & Haijun Bao & Yi Peng & Haowen Wang & Xiaoling Zhang, 2017. "The Collective Strategies of Major Stakeholders in Land Expropriation: A Tripartite Game Analysis of Central Government, Local Governments, and Land-Lost Farmers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-15, April.
    10. Fuyuan Wang & Kaiyong Wang, 2017. "Assessing the Effect of Eco-City Practices on Urban Sustainability Using an Extended Ecological Footprint Model: A Case Study in Xi’an, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(9), pages 1-16, September.
    11. Zhao, Rui & Zhou, Xiao & Han, Jiaojie & Liu, Chengliang, 2016. "For the sustainable performance of the carbon reduction labeling policies under an evolutionary game simulation," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 262-274.
    12. Lingguang Li & Weixin Yang, 2018. "Total Factor Efficiency Study on China’s Industrial Coal Input and Wastewater Control with Dual Target Variables," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-22, June.
    13. Liang Liu & Cong Feng & Hongwei Zhang & Xuehua Zhang, 2015. "Game Analysis and Simulation of the River Basin Sustainable Development Strategy Integrating Water Emission Trading," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(5), pages 1-21, April.
    14. Weixin Yang & Lingguang Li, 2017. "Analysis of Total Factor Efficiency of Water Resource and Energy in China: A Study Based on DEA-SBM Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(8), pages 1-21, July.
    15. Chen, Yi & Ding, Shuai & Zheng, Handong & Zhang, Youtao & Yang, Shanlin, 2018. "Exploring diffusion strategies for mHealth promotion using evolutionary game model," Applied Mathematics and Computation, Elsevier, vol. 336(C), pages 148-161.
    16. Weixin Yang & Lingguang Li, 2017. "Energy Efficiency, Ownership Structure, and Sustainable Development: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-26, June.
    17. Zhang, Lin & An, Yao, 2017. "The government capacity on industrial pollution management in Shanxi province: A response impulse analysis," MPRA Paper 94796, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    18. Xin-gang Zhao & Yu-zhuo Zhang, 2018. "The System Dynamics (SD) Analysis of the Government and Power Producers’ Evolutionary Game Strategies Based on Carbon Trading (CT) Mechanism: A Case of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(4), pages 1-18, April.
    19. Huiming Zhang & Lifang Xiong & Yueming Qiu & Dequn Zhou, 2017. "How Have Political Incentives for Local Officials Reduced Environmental Pollution in Resource-Depleted Cities?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(11), pages 1-14, October.
    20. Kasim, M. Taha, 2017. "Evaluating the effectiveness of an environmental disclosure policy: An application to New South Wales," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 113-131.
    21. Weixin Yang & Lingguang Li, 2017. "Efficiency Evaluation and Policy Analysis of Industrial Wastewater Control in China," Energies, MDPI, vol. 10(8), pages 1-18, August.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Yang, Yunpeng & Yang, Weixin & Chen, Hongmin & Li, Yin, 2020. "China’s energy whistleblowing and energy supervision policy: An evolutionary game perspective," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    2. Yuqing Liao & Yongchao Ma & Jingliang Chen & Ruirui Liu, 2020. "Evaluation of the Level of Sustainable Development of Provinces in China from 2012 to 2018: A Study Based on the Improved Entropy Coefficient-TOPSIS Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-19, March.
    3. Guanghui Yuan & Weixin Yang, 2019. "Evaluating China’s Air Pollution Control Policy with Extended AQI Indicator System: Example of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-21, February.
    4. Haojie Liu & Jinyue Liu & Weixin Yang & Jianing Chen & Mingyang Zhu, 2020. "Analysis and Prediction of Land Use in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region: A Study Based on the Improved Convolutional Neural Network Model," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-25, April.
    5. Xueyan Liu & Xiaolong Gao, 2018. "A New Study on Air Quality Standards: Air Quality Measurement and Evaluation for Jiangsu Province Based on Six Major Air Pollutants," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-16, October.
    6. Chi Zhang & Jun He & Guanghui Yuan, 2020. "An Empirical Analysis on DPRK: Will Grain Yield Influence Foreign Policy Tendency?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-25, March.
    7. Qiao Peng & Yao Xiao, 2020. "Will Third-Party Treatment Effectively Solve Issues Related to Industrial Pollution in China?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-15, September.
    8. Ying Yan & Yuangang Li & Maohua Sun & Zhenhua Wu, 2019. "Primary Pollutants and Air Quality Analysis for Urban Air in China: Evidence from Shanghai," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(8), pages 1-18, April.
    9. Yunpeng Yang & Zhiqiang Liu & Hongmin Chen & Yaqiong Wang & Guanghui Yuan, 2020. "Evaluating Regional Eco-Green Cooperative Development Based on a Heterogeneous Multi-Criteria Decision-Making Model: Example of the Yangtze River Delta Region," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(7), pages 1-20, April.
    10. Hao Gao & Weixin Yang & Jiawei Wang & Xiaoyun Zheng, 2020. "Analysis of the Effectiveness of Air Pollution Control Policies Based on Historical Evaluation and Deep Learning Forecast: A Case Study of Chengdu-Chongqing Region in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(1), pages 1-28, December.
    11. Yaqiong Wang & Guanghui Yuan & Ying Yan & Xueliang Zhang, 2020. "Evaluation of Sustainable Urban Development under Environmental Constraints: A Case Study of Jiangsu Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(3), pages 1-17, February.
    12. Yuangang Li & Maohua Sun & Guanghui Yuan & Yujing Liu, 2019. "Evaluation Methods of Water Environment Safety and Their Application to the Three Northeast Provinces of China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(18), pages 1-16, September.
    13. Yuangang Li & Maohua Sun & Guanghui Yuan & Qi Zhou & Jinyue Liu, 2019. "Study on Development Sustainability of Atmospheric Environment in Northeast China by Rough Set and Entropy Weight Method," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(14), pages 1-22, July.
    14. Xiaodan Wang & Zhengyu Yang, 2019. "Application of Fuzzy Optimization Model Based on Entropy Weight Method in Atmospheric Quality Evaluation: A Case Study of Zhejiang Province, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-19, April.
    15. Wenhui Zhao & Ruican Zou & Guanghui Yuan & Hui Wang & Zhongfu Tan, 2019. "Long-Term Cointegration Relationship between China’s Wind Power Development and Carbon Emissions," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(17), pages 1-12, August.
    16. Weixin Yang & Hao Gao & Yunpeng Yang & Jiacheng Liao, 2022. "Embodied Carbon in China’s Export Trade: A Multi Region Input-Output Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-16, March.
    17. Bowen Jiang & Yuangang Li & Weixin Yang, 2020. "Evaluation and Treatment Analysis of Air Quality Including Particulate Pollutants: A Case Study of Shandong Province, China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-24, December.
    18. Xiaojuan Shen & Weixin Yang & Shaorong Sun, 2019. "Analysis of the Impact of China’s Hierarchical Medical System and Online Appointment Diagnosis System on the Sustainable Development of Public Health: A Case Study of Shanghai," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(23), pages 1-26, November.
    19. Hao Jin & Shuai Huang, 2021. "Are China’s Water Resources for Agriculture Sustainable? Evidence from Hubei Province," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-17, March.
    20. Weixin Yang & Yunpeng Yang, 2020. "Research on Air Pollution Control in China: From the Perspective of Quadrilateral Evolutionary Games," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-23, February.

    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:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:2:p:324-:d:196475. 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.