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Is Economic Transition Harmful to China’s Urban Environment? Evidence from Industrial Air Pollution in Chinese Cities

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  • Canfei He
  • Fenghua Pan
  • Yan Yan

Abstract

Economic transition has posed a serious challenge to environmental protection efforts in China. This study explores the environmental effects of the triple transition process of marketisation, globalisation and decentralisation using data on industrial SO 2 and soot emissions at the prefecture-city level. Panel data regression results find that marketisation and decentralisation have been harmful to the urban environment while economic globalisation has been beneficial to urban air quality. As is to be expected, state-owned enterprises have contributed to China’s environmental degradation. However, the environmental impacts of the triple processes of economic transition only occur in the coastal and central cities. The results imply that the institutional perspective provides an important angle to understand the issue of environmental deterioration in China.

Suggested Citation

  • Canfei He & Fenghua Pan & Yan Yan, 2012. "Is Economic Transition Harmful to China’s Urban Environment? Evidence from Industrial Air Pollution in Chinese Cities," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 49(8), pages 1767-1790, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:urbstu:v:49:y:2012:i:8:p:1767-1790
    DOI: 10.1177/0042098011415719
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. He, Qichun, 2015. "Fiscal decentralization and environmental pollution: Evidence from Chinese panel data," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 86-100.
    3. Cheng, Jinhua & Dai, Sheng & Ye, Xinyue, 2016. "Spatiotemporal heterogeneity of industrial pollution in China," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 179-191.
    4. Liangliang Liu & Donghong Ding & Jun He, 2019. "Fiscal Decentralization, Economic Growth, and Haze Pollution Decoupling Effects: A Simple Model and Evidence from China," Computational Economics, Springer;Society for Computational Economics, vol. 54(4), pages 1423-1441, December.
    5. Guangdong Xu & Wenming Xu & Shudan Xu, 2018. "Does the establishment of the Ministry of Environmental Protection matter for addressing China’s pollution problems? Empirical evidence from listed companies," Economics of Governance, Springer, vol. 19(3), pages 195-224, August.
    6. Liu, Chang & Hong, Tao & Li, Huaifeng & Wang, Lili, 2018. "From club convergence of per capita industrial pollutant emissions to industrial transfer effects: An empirical study across 285 cities in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 300-313.

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