The Impact of Environmental Regulation on the Upgrading of Urban Industrial Structure: A Quasi-Natural Experiment Based on the Two Control Zones Policy

Abstract

This paper considers the two control zones policy implemented in 1998 in China as a quasi-natural experiment, examines the impact of environmental regulation on the upgrading of urban industrial structure by constructing a DID model, and tests the heterogeneity of its role at the regional and urban levels. Results have found that: (1) From a national perspective, the two control zones policy has significantly promoted the upgrading of urban industrial structure. In addition, from the perspective of different control zones, the two control zones policy has a positive promoting effect on the upgrading of industrial structure. (2) The two control zones policy has significant long-term effects in promoting industrial structure upgrading, and its impact on industrial structure upgrading shows dynamic effects. (3) The industrial structure upgrading effect of the two control zones policy exhibits significant heterogeneity across different city scales. (4) In terms of regions, the two control zones policy has significant spatial heterogeneity.

Research on Energy Conservation and Emission-Reduction Effects of Green Finance: Evidence from China

“…The key mechanism for achieving energy-saving and emission-reduction goals through environmental policy factors is that environmental policies force the optimization and upgrading of industrial structure, thereby reducing corporate pollution emissions and improving energy efficiency [12,13]. The significant impact of environmental policies on industrial structural upgrading has been fully validated in the academic community [14,15] and, based on these research findings, targeted policy recommendations have been provided for the government to formulate reasonable environmental regulations [16][17][18], greatly improving the energy-saving and emission-reduction effects of environmental policy tools. In terms of technological innovation factors, the main way to achieve energy conservation and emission reduction is for enterprises to increase their R&D investment in technological innovation in order to increase profits or enhance their probability of survival in the market.…”