IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/sae/engenv/v32y2021i1p96-112.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Can pollution charges reform promote industrial SO2 emissions reduction?—Evidence from 189 China’s cities

Author

Listed:
  • Da Gao
  • Yi Li
  • Qiuyue Yang

Abstract

This paper evaluates the real effects of pollution charges reform on SO 2 emissions at the city level. Using the establishment of Comprehensive Work Plan for Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction (The Plan) in China as a quasi-natural experiment, our difference-in-differences estimation shows that: (1) increasing pollution charges has a significant and positive effect on controlling industrial waste SO 2 , and this relationship is robust to different specifications and alternative measures; (2) SO 2 emissions can be reduced to achieve reduction targets by forcing companies to strengthen the degree of process production controls and end-of-pipe treatment; (3) eastern and western cities have a better pollution control effect than the other regions, and large cities have better emission reduction effects than smaller cities. Overall, this paper sorts out the evolution of China’s pollution charge policy, and reveals the mechanisms behind the real effects of pollution charges reform on SO 2 emissions, thus providing timely implications for policymakers concerned with environmental protection.

Suggested Citation

  • Da Gao & Yi Li & Qiuyue Yang, 2021. "Can pollution charges reform promote industrial SO2 emissions reduction?—Evidence from 189 China’s cities," Energy & Environment, , vol. 32(1), pages 96-112, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:engenv:v:32:y:2021:i:1:p:96-112
    DOI: 10.1177/0958305X20919410
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0958305X20919410
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1177/0958305X20919410?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
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Chen, Qiu & Maung, Min & Shi, Yulin & Wilson, Craig, 2014. "Foreign direct investment concessions and environmental levies in China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 241-250.
    2. Wang, Hua & Wheeler, David, 2005. "Financial incentives and endogenous enforcement in China's pollution levy system," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 49(1), pages 174-196, January.
    3. Min Maung & Craig Wilson & Xiaobo Tang, 2016. "Political Connections and Industrial Pollution: Evidence Based on State Ownership and Environmental Levies in China," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 138(4), pages 649-659, November.
    4. 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.
    5. Marco Caliendo & Sabine Kopeinig, 2008. "Some Practical Guidance For The Implementation Of Propensity Score Matching," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 22(1), pages 31-72, February.
    6. He, Jie, 2006. "Pollution haven hypothesis and environmental impacts of foreign direct investment: The case of industrial emission of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in Chinese provinces," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 60(1), pages 228-245, November.
    7. Zhang, Qi & Yu, Zhi & Kong, Dongmin, 2019. "The real effect of legal institutions: Environmental courts and firm environmental protection expenditure," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    8. Petra Moser & Alessandra Voena, 2012. "Compulsory Licensing: Evidence from the Trading with the Enemy Act," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 102(1), pages 396-427, February.
    9. ., 2017. "The concept of economic welfare," Chapters, in: Morality and Power, chapter 6, pages 59-68, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    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. Li, Mengxu & Liu, Jianghua & Chen, Yang & Yang, Zhijiu, 2023. "Can sustainable development strategy reduce income inequality in resource-based regions? A natural resource dependence perspective," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C).
    2. Yanan Guo & Qiong Tong & Zhengjiao Li & Yuhao Zhao, 2022. "Research on Carbon Emission Quota of Railway in China from the Perspective of Equity and Efficiency," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-18, October.
    3. Li, Zhengda & Zheng, Chengxin & Liu, Aimin & Yang, Yang & Yuan, Xiaoling, 2022. "Environmental taxes, green subsidies, and cleaner production willingness: Evidence from China's publicly traded companies," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).

    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. 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. Xun Cao & Qing Deng & Xiaojun Li & Zijie Shao, 2022. "Fine me if you can: Fixed asset intensity and enforcement of environmental regulations in China," Regulation & Governance, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 16(4), pages 983-1004, October.
    3. Imad Moosa, 2019. "The Environmental Effects of FDI: Evidence from MENA Countries," Working Papers 1321, Economic Research Forum, revised 21 Aug 2019.
    4. Deng, Yuping & Wu, Yanrui & Xu, Helian, 2019. "Political turnover and firm pollution discharges: An empirical study," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 58(C).
    5. Shahbaz, Muhammad & Nasreen, Samia & Abbas, Faisal & Anis, Omri, 2015. "Does foreign direct investment impede environmental quality in high-, middle-, and low-income countries?," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 51(C), pages 275-287.
    6. Yuping Deng & Yanrui Wu & Helian Xu, 2019. "Environmental Regulation and Export Product Quality: Evidence from Chinese Firms," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 19-14, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    7. Larivière, Jean-Michel & He, Jie, 2012. "L’impact de la taille des firmes industrielles sur la courbe de Kuznets environnementale : le cas des émissions de SO2 en Chine," L'Actualité Economique, Société Canadienne de Science Economique, vol. 88(1), pages 5-36, mars.
    8. Sapkota, Pratikshya & Bastola, Umesh, 2017. "Foreign direct investment, income, and environmental pollution in developing countries: Panel data analysis of Latin America," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 206-212.
    9. Yanrui Wu, 2007. "Environmental Efficiency and Its Determinants in China’s Regional Economies," Economics Discussion / Working Papers 07-21, The University of Western Australia, Department of Economics.
    10. Maximilian Auffhammer & Weizeng Sun & Jianfeng Wu & Siqi Zheng, 2016. "The Decomposition And Dynamics Of Industrial Carbon Dioxide Emissions For 287 Chinese Cities In 1998–2009," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(3), pages 460-481, July.
    11. Fozia Latif Gill & K Kuperan Viswanathan & Mohd Zaini Abdul Karim, 2018. "The Critical Review of the Pollution Haven Hypothesis (PHH)," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 8(1), pages 167-174.
    12. Chakraborty, Debashis & Mukherjee, Sacchidananda, 2010. "Relationship between Trade, Investment and Environment: A Review of Issues," MPRA Paper 23333, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    13. Liu, Chenhao & Kong, Dongmin, 2021. "Does political incentive shape governments' disclosure of air pollution information?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    14. Shujing Yue & Yang Yang & Yaoyu Hu, 2016. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Affect Green Growth? Evidence from China’s Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-14, February.
    15. Wen Jun & Muhammad Zakaria & Syed Jawad Hussain Shahzad & Hamid Mahmood, 2018. "Effect of FDI on Pollution in China: New Insights Based on Wavelet Approach," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-20, October.
    16. Ayse M. Erdogan, 2014. "Foreign Direct Investment And Environmental Regulations: A Survey," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(5), pages 943-955, December.
    17. Rizky Eriandani & Saiful Anam & Dewi Prastiwi & Ni Nyoman Alit Triani, 2020. "The Impact of Foreign Direct Investment on CO2 Emissions in ASEAN Countries," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 10(5), pages 584-592.
    18. 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..
    19. Mohamed Ali Hfaiedh & Wajdi Bardi, 2021. "Does FDI and Corruption affect Environmental Quality in Tunisia?," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(4), pages 267-275.
    20. Dongmin Kong & Ni Qin, 2021. "Does Environmental Regulation Shape Entrepreneurship?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 80(1), pages 169-196, September.

    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:sae:engenv:v:32:y:2021:i:1:p:96-112. 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: SAGE Publications (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    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.