IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/kap/regeco/v63y2023i1d10.1007_s11149-022-09455-6.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Environmental regulation and energy efficiency: evidence from daily penalty policy in China

Author

Listed:
  • Kai Hu

    (East China University of Science and Technology
    University of St Andrews)

  • Dandan Li

    (Hubei University of Economics
    Hubei University of Economics)

  • Daqian Shi

    (Wuhan University of Technology)

  • Wenli Xu

    (Anhui University School of Economics)

Abstract

To achieve the twin aims of environmental improvement and economic progress, some cities in China have implemented a stringent environmental regulation, Daily Penalty Policy (DPP). Compared with previous environmental regulations, DPP dramatically increases the cost of environmental pollution, but it is unclear whether DPP can effectively control environmental pollution and improve economic development together. This study evaluates the environmental and economic effects of DPP by estimating the relationship between DPP and energy efficiency in time-varying difference-in-differences (Time-varying DID) models. Our results show that DPP increases the firm-level energy efficiency ( $$\beta $$ β =0.07, p

Suggested Citation

  • Kai Hu & Dandan Li & Daqian Shi & Wenli Xu, 2023. "Environmental regulation and energy efficiency: evidence from daily penalty policy in China," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 63(1), pages 1-29, April.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:regeco:v:63:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s11149-022-09455-6
    DOI: 10.1007/s11149-022-09455-6
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11149-022-09455-6
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s11149-022-09455-6?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. Eva Lyubich & Joseph S. Shapiro & Reed Walker, 2018. "Regulating Mismeasured Pollution: Implications of Firm Heterogeneity for Environmental Policy," Working Papers 18-03, Center for Economic Studies, U.S. Census Bureau.
    2. Stefan Ambec & Mark A. Cohen & Stewart Elgie & Paul Lanoie, 2013. "The Porter Hypothesis at 20: Can Environmental Regulation Enhance Innovation and Competitiveness?," Review of Environmental Economics and Policy, Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 7(1), pages 2-22, January.
    3. Clément de Chaisemartin & Xavier D'Haultfœuille, 2020. "Two-Way Fixed Effects Estimators with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 110(9), pages 2964-2996, September.
    4. Liu, Haiying & Owens, Katharine A. & Yang, Ke & Zhang, Chunhong, 2020. "Pollution abatement costs and technical changes under different environmental regulations," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    5. Guo, Ran & Yuan, Yijun, 2020. "Different types of environmental regulations and heterogeneous influence on energy efficiency in the industrial sector: Evidence from Chinese provincial data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    6. Hirose, Kosuke & Matsumura, Toshihiro, 2020. "A comparison between emission intensity and emission cap regulations," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 137(C).
    7. Kenneth Gillingham & Richard G. Newell & Karen Palmer, 2009. "Energy Efficiency Economics and Policy," Annual Review of Resource Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 1(1), pages 597-620, September.
    8. Saidel, Marco A. & Alves, Sizenando S., 2003. "Energy efficiency policies in the OECD countries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 76(1-3), pages 123-134, September.
    9. Wang, Ke & Wang, Shanshan & Liu, Lei & Yue, Hui & Zhang, Ruiqin & Tang, Xiaoyan, 2016. "Environmental co-benefits of energy efficiency improvement in coal-fired power sector: A case study of Henan Province, China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 810-819.
    10. de Chaisemartin, Clement & D'Haultfoeuille, Xavier, 2014. "Fuzzy Changes-in Changes," CAGE Online Working Paper Series 184, Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE).
    11. Zhang, H. & Fan, L.W. & Zhou, P., 2020. "Handling heterogeneity in frontier modeling of city-level energy efficiency: The case of China," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 279(C).
    12. Thorsten Beck & Ross Levine & Alexey Levkov, 2010. "Big Bad Banks? The Winners and Losers from Bank Deregulation in the United States," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 65(5), pages 1637-1667, October.
    13. Han, Lei & Han, Botang & Shi, Xunpeng & Su, Bin & Lv, Xin & Lei, Xiao, 2018. "Energy efficiency convergence across countries in the context of China’s Belt and Road initiative," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C), pages 112-122.
    14. Cole, Matthew A. & Elliott, Robert J.R. & Shimamoto, Kenichi, 2005. "Industrial characteristics, environmental regulations and air pollution: an analysis of the UK manufacturing sector," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 50(1), pages 121-143, July.
    15. González-Torres, M. & Pérez-Lombard, L. & Coronel, J.F. & Maestre, I.R., 2021. "A cross-country review on energy efficiency drivers," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    16. Peng, Lihong & Zeng, Xiaoling & Wang, Yejun & Hong, Gui-Bing, 2015. "Analysis of energy efficiency and carbon dioxide reduction in the Chinese pulp and paper industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 65-75.
    17. Goodman-Bacon, Andrew, 2021. "Difference-in-differences with variation in treatment timing," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 254-277.
    18. Tanaka, Shinsuke, 2015. "Environmental regulations on air pollution in China and their impact on infant mortality," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 90-103.
    19. Berggren, Christian & Magnusson, Thomas, 2012. "Reducing automotive emissions—The potentials of combustion engine technologies and the power of policy," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 636-643.
    20. Bi, Gong-Bing & Song, Wen & Zhou, P. & Liang, Liang, 2014. "Does environmental regulation affect energy efficiency in China's thermal power generation? Empirical evidence from a slacks-based DEA model," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 66(C), pages 537-546.
    21. Claire Loupias & Patrick Sevestre, 2013. "Costs, Demand, and Producer Price Changes," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 95(1), pages 315-327, March.
    22. Adam B. Jaffe & Karen Palmer, 1997. "Environmental Regulation And Innovation: A Panel Data Study," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 79(4), pages 610-619, November.
    23. Eva Lyubich & Joseph Shapiro & Reed Walker, 2018. "Regulating Mismeasured Pollution: Implications of Firm Heterogeneity for Environmental Policy," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 108, pages 136-142, May.
    24. C de Chaisemartin & X D’HaultfŒuille, 2018. "Fuzzy Differences-in-Differences," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 85(2), pages 999-1028.
    25. Huang, Lingyun & Zou, Yanjun, 2020. "How to promote energy transition in China: From the perspectives of interregional relocation and environmental regulation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    26. 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.
    27. Zhang, Yixiang & Xiong, Yali & Li, Feng & Cheng, Jinhua & Yue, Xiaochen, 2020. "Environmental regulation, capital output and energy efficiency in China: An empirical research based on integrated energy prices," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 146(C).
    28. Hampf, Benjamin & Rodseth, Kenneth, 2019. "Environmental Efficiency Measurement with Heterogeneous Input Quality: A Nonparametric Analysis of U.S. Power Plants," Publications of Darmstadt Technical University, Institute for Business Studies (BWL) 118700, Darmstadt Technical University, Department of Business Administration, Economics and Law, Institute for Business Studies (BWL).
    29. Rasti-Barzoki, Morteza & Moon, Ilkyeong, 2020. "A game theoretic approach for car pricing and its energy efficiency level versus governmental sustainability goals by considering rebound effect: A case study of South Korea," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    30. José Zofío & Angel Prieto, 2006. "Return to Dollar, Generalized Distance Function and the Fisher Productivity Index," Spanish Economic Review, Springer;Spanish Economic Association, vol. 8(2), pages 113-138, June.
    31. Roger Fouquet, 2016. "Path dependence in energy systems and economic development," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 1(8), pages 1-5, August.
    32. Yuecheng Huang & Wuyi Cheng & Sida Luo & Yun Luo & Chengchen Ma & Tailin He, 2016. "Features of the Asynchronous Correlation between the China Coal Price Index and Coal Mining Accidental Deaths," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(11), pages 1-18, November.
    33. 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).
    34. Farla, Jacco & Blok, Kornelis & Schipper, Lee, 1997. "Energy efficiency developments in the pulp and paper industry : A cross-country comparison using physical production data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 25(7-9), pages 745-758.
    35. Fare, Rolf & Grosskopf, Shawna & Zaim, Osman, 2002. "Hyperbolic efficiency and return to the dollar," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 136(3), pages 671-679, February.
    36. Chen, Dengke & Chen, Shiyi & Jin, Hao & Lu, Yulin, 2020. "The impact of energy regulation on energy intensity and energy structure: Firm-level evidence from China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    37. Callaway, Brantly & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C., 2021. "Difference-in-Differences with multiple time periods," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 225(2), pages 200-230.
    38. Mandal, Sabuj Kumar, 2010. "Do undesirable output and environmental regulation matter in energy efficiency analysis? Evidence from Indian Cement Industry," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 38(10), pages 6076-6083, October.
    39. Li, Pei & Lu, Yi & Wang, Jin, 2016. "Does flattening government improve economic performance? Evidence from China," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 18-37.
    40. Hampf, Benjamin & Rødseth, Kenneth Løvold, 2019. "Environmental efficiency measurement with heterogeneous input quality: A nonparametric analysis of U.S. power plants," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 610-625.
    41. Eva Lyubich & Joseph Shapiro & Reed Walker, 2018. "Regulating Mismeasured Pollution: Implications of Firm Heterogeneity for Environmental Policy," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 108, pages 136-142, May.
    42. Pan, Lingying & Liu, Pei & Ma, Linwei & Li, Zheng, 2012. "A supply chain based assessment of water issues in the coal industry in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 93-102.
    43. Nicholas Z. Muller & Robert Mendelsohn, 2009. "Efficient Pollution Regulation: Getting the Prices Right," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 99(5), pages 1714-1739, December.
    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. Mohd Arshad Ansari & Pushp Kumar & Muhammed Ashiq Villanthenkodath, 2023. "Impact of renewable and non-renewable electricity generation on economic growth in India: an application of linear and nonlinear models," Journal of Regulatory Economics, Springer, vol. 63(3), pages 138-158, June.

    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. Lyu, Chaofeng & Xie, Zhe & Li, Zhi, 2022. "Market supervision, innovation offsets and energy efficiency: Evidence from environmental pollution liability insurance in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).
    2. Bu, Caiqi & Zhang, Kaixia & Shi, Daqian & Wang, Shuyu, 2022. "Does environmental information disclosure improve energy efficiency?," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 164(C).
    3. Liu, Xiaoguang & Ji, Qiang & Yu, Jian, 2021. "Sustainable development goals and firm carbon emissions: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 103(C).
    4. Cl'ement de Chaisemartin & Xavier D'Haultf{oe}uille, 2021. "Two-Way Fixed Effects and Differences-in-Differences with Heterogeneous Treatment Effects: A Survey," Papers 2112.04565, arXiv.org, revised Jun 2022.
    5. Yang, Mian & Hong, Yili & Yang, Fuxia, 2022. "The effects of Mandatory Energy Efficiency Policy on resource allocation efficiency: Evidence from Chinese industrial sector," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 513-524.
    6. Roth, Jonathan & Sant’Anna, Pedro H.C. & Bilinski, Alyssa & Poe, John, 2023. "What’s trending in difference-in-differences? A synthesis of the recent econometrics literature," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 235(2), pages 2218-2244.
    7. Wang, Ying & Deng, Xiangzheng & Zhang, Hongwei & Liu, Yujie & Yue, Tianxiang & Liu, Gang, 2022. "Energy endowment, environmental regulation, and energy efficiency: Evidence from China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 177(C).
    8. Zhuo, Chengfeng & Xie, Yuping & Mao, Yanhua & Chen, Pengqin & Li, Yiqiao, 2022. "Can cross-regional environmental protection promote urban green development: Zero-sum game or win-win choice?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 106(C).
    9. Yan, Zheming & Zhou, Zicheng & Du, Kerui, 2023. "How does environmental regulatory stringency affect energy consumption? Evidence from Chinese firms," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    10. Jian Song & Jing Wang & Zhe Chen, 2022. "How Low-Carbon Pilots Affect Chinese Urban Energy Efficiency: An Explanation from Technological Progress," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1, November.
    11. Posso, Alberto, 2023. "Terrorism, banking, and informal savings: Evidence from Nigeria," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 150(C).
    12. Liyang Sun & Jesse M. Shapiro, 2022. "A Linear Panel Model with Heterogeneous Coefficients and Variation in Exposure," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 36(4), pages 193-204, Fall.
    13. Clément de Chaisemartin & Xavier D’Haultfœuille, 2023. "Two-way fixed effects and differences-in-differences with heterogeneous treatment effects: a survey," The Econometrics Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 26(3), pages 1-30.
    14. Changteng Nie & Jianxiang Wan, 2023. "How Does Internet Infrastructure Construction Affect the Urban–Rural Income Gap? Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China," Progress in Development Studies, , vol. 23(3), pages 317-337, July.
    15. LU Guanyu & TANAKA Kenta & ARIMURA Toshi H., 2023. "The Impacts of the Tokyo and Saitama ETSs on the Energy Efficiency Performance of Manufacturing Facilities," Discussion papers 23007, Research Institute of Economy, Trade and Industry (RIETI).
    16. Chen, Shiyi & Jiang, Lingduo & Liu, Wanlin & Song, Hong, 2022. "Fireworks regulation, air pollution, and public health: Evidence from China," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    17. Chen, Zhe & Song, Pei & Wang, Baolu, 2021. "Carbon emissions trading scheme, energy efficiency and rebound effect – Evidence from China's provincial data," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 157(C).
    18. Du, Kerui & Liu, Xueyue & Zhao, Cheng, 2023. "Environmental regulation mitigates energy rebound effect," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 125(C).
    19. Zhang, Ning & Zhao, Yu & Wang, Na, 2022. "Is China's energy policy effective for power plants? Evidence from the 12th Five-Year Plan energy saving targets," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    20. Yong Geng & Wei Liu & Hanshu Chen & Xinyu Zou, 2023. "The Spillover Effects of Environmental Regulations: A Perspective of Chinese Unregulated Firms' Tax Burden," China & World Economy, Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, vol. 31(2), pages 84-111, March.

    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:kap:regeco:v:63:y:2023:i:1:d:10.1007_s11149-022-09455-6. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.