Environmental governance, local government competition and industrial green transformation: Evidence from China's sustainable development practice

Abstract

The rapid development of China's economy has also led to serious environmental problems, which have seriously restricted China's sustainable development. To this end, the Chinese government has continued to explore environmental governance.So, can environmental governance policies promote industrial green transformation, so as to achieve the goal of sustainable development? Will environmental policy competition among local governments have an impact on them? These issues are the focus of this article. Based on the provincial panel data of China from 2006 to 2021, this article empirically analyzes the relationship between environmental governance, local government competition, and industrial green transformation. The results found that there was a "U" type nonlinear relationship between environmental governance and industrial green transformation. On the whole, most regions of China are still in the development stage where environmental governance is not conducive to industrial green transformation. There is competition for environmental governance policies among local governments in China, and the characteristics of "race to the bottom" are more significant. In the East developed areas, there is a more significant "yardstick competition" game state. In the Midwest undeveloped areas, it is manifested as competition for resources by deregulation of the environment, thereby promoting short-term economic growth. In addition, local protection behaviors negatively regulate the impact of environmental governance on industrial green transformation, that is, inhibiting local industrial green transformation by causing labor market mismatch. This study can provide valuable insights for policymakers aiming to adopt measures to achieve the sustainable development of the economy and environment.

Emissions trading scheme and green development in China: Impact of city heterogeneity

“…Referring to the existing studies (Pinar, 2022; Zuo et al, 2017), we calculate the EGP from an environmental pollution perspective by using the entropy weight method. The specific indicators include the removal rate of industrial smoke (powder) dust, the removal rate of industrial SO2, the comprehensive utilization rate of general industrial solid waste, the harmless treatment rate of domestic waste, and the centralized treatment rate of sewage treatment plant (Yang et al, 2022). The data originates from the China Urban Statistical Yearbook (1998–2020).…”

Regional common prosperity level and its spatial relationship with carbon emission intensity in China

“…Nowadays, China has recognized the necessity of improving environmental and ecological preservation, energy savings, and carbon reduction. It has begun to continuously develop a green and low-carbon circular economy, explore a sustainable development path, and use the funds generated by economic development to feed back into the cause of energy conservation and carbon reduction 60 . “Sharing” denotes the sharing of public social goods, and the people's per capita carbon emissions will be reduced through a shared lifestyle 61 .…”

The impact and mechanism of vertical fiscal imbalance on green development efficiency: An empirical analysis based on city-level samples in China

“…(3) Three additional heterogeneity tests conducted regarding the effect of VFI on GDE verify the generalizability and variability of the impact and expand the exploration of specific impact scenarios. The results provide evidence for further reform of the fiscal system to promote green and sustainable economic development [ 9 ].…”