Fiscal decentralization, environmental regulation, and pollution: a spatial investigation

Digital economy and fiscal decentralization: Drivers of green innovation in China

The impact of government behavior under a fiscal decentralization system on the interplay between the digital economy and both the quality and efficiency of green innovation poses an intriguing question. To address this, the present study employs two-way fixed-effects models, instrumental variables, and spatial econometric techniques, using data from 30 provinces and cities in China spanning 2004 to 2019. The findings reveal that the advancement of the digital economy significantly enhances the quality and efficiency of green innovation. In the context of China's fiscal decentralization, local governments frequently employ a "race to the top" strategy, amplifying the digital economy's beneficial impact on green innovation. This effect is particularly pronounced in economically prosperous regions that prioritize environmental assessments. Additionally, the study identifies a spatial demonstration effect, indicating that fiscal decentralization bolsters the digital economy's influence in adjacent regions. Consequently, policy recommendations include deepening the digital economy, advocating for increased fiscal autonomy for local governments, refining the performance appraisal systems for local officials, and establishing a well-calibrated environmental transfer mechanism. Further, leveraging the positive spatial correlations among local governments can foster a competitive yet collaborative landscape for green innovation.

The role of Chinese-style fiscal decentralization in promoting synergistic carbon and haze governance: insights from technological innovation

The reduction of haze and carbon emissions is extremely important for promoting sustainable development, improving air quality, enhancing health, and mitigating climate change. However, there is not enough research available on the impact of fiscal decentralization in China on the management of carbon and haze reduction. In order to thoroughly examine the effects of Chinese-style fiscal decentralization on the synergy between haze reduction and carbon reduction in different provinces, this study utilizes a dynamic spatial panel Durbin model using Han-Phillips Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) estimation and a multi-scale geographically and temporally weighted regression model. Our findings indicate that the eastern region consistently takes the lead in reducing haze and achieving carbon synergy. Fiscal technology decentralization has a direct positive impact and spatial spillover effect on carbon haze synergy with significant inverted U-shaped characteristics. These effects primarily arise from the promotion of technological innovation through fiscal technology decentralization. Furthermore, the influence of decentralizing fiscal technology expenditures on the degree of synergy between haze mitigation and carbon reduction varies significantly across China's provinces, both spatially and temporally. This entails promoting coordination between fiscal decentralization and policies related to haze and carbon emission reduction and encouraging information sharing, technology exchange, and collaborative projects between different regions to create a synergistic linkage effect. This will help achieve joint development and environmental protection goals in all regions. The discoveries carry significant consequences for directing the synchronized administration of haze and carbon and can serve as a solid basis for governmental decision-making aimed at enhancing air quality and attaining carbon neutrality through collaborative actions and policies.

Impact path of digital economy on carbon emission efficiency: Mediating effect based on technological innovation

The digital economy (DIE), a new economic form with digitalization at its core, has become an important driving force for promoting regional economy development. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, exploring the impact path of the DIE on carbon emission efficiency (CEE) is conducive to giving full play to the "carbon-reduction-and-efficiency-enhancement" role of the DIE, and to promoting the realization the "dual carbon" goal of carbon peak and carbon neutrality. In this paper, the Yellow River Basin (YRB) and the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB) are taken as study areas, the panel Tobit model is used to explore the impact of the DIE on CEE, and the intermediary-effect model and threshold-effect model are constructed to test the intermediary and threshold effects of technological innovation, respectively. The results show that the DIE has a U-shaped nonlinear impact on CEE in both the YRB and the YREB and that the impact has regional heterogeneity. Technological innovation can play a mediating effect between the DIE and CEE, whereas the mediating effect in the YRB is stronger than that in the YREB. Technological innovation has a threshold effect on the DIE to improve CEE, while the threshold value in the YREB is higher than that in the YRB. Furthermore, this paper proposes some suggestions to guide regional low-carbon and sustainable development.

Exploring the nexus between fiscal decentralization and ecological sustainability: a fresh perspective from the moderating role of geopolitical risk and updated international evidence

Fiscal decentralization has been long employed to enhance the utilization of financial resources for sustainable development. Nevertheless, its effectiveness in limiting ecological degradation is ambiguous, especially when a country faces geopolitical risks. Different from previous works which separately examine the impacts of either fiscal decentralization or geopolitical risks on ecological sustainability, this research examines the moderating role of geopolitical risks on the non-linear relationship between fiscal decentralization and ecological footprints across different levels of environmental condition. An advanced panel quantile regression is applied to a sample of 23 advanced and emerging market economies from 1990 to 2018. The empirical results indicate that the nexus between revenue decentralization and ecological footprint follows an inverted U-shaped pattern at the 20th to 60th quantiles of ecological footprint. Meanwhile, the linkage between expenditure and ecological footprint reflects a U-shaped pattern across all quantiles. Notably, geopolitical risk strongly moderates the connection between fiscal decentralization and ecological footprint with the role being stronger in the case of revenue decentralization. This research provides valuable implementations to tailor policies for transferring revenue and expenditure responsibilities to sub-governmental bodies towards sustainability targets based on their current ecological conditions and contexts of geopolitical instability.

Can China's carbon intensity constraint policies improve carbon emission performance? Evidence from regional carbon emissions

Carbon Intensity Constraint Policies (CICPs) are vital for addressing climate change challenges and advancing sustainable development. Since 2010, China has rolled out three five-year CICPs. However, there is limited understanding of their impact on carbon emission performance (CEP). Addressing this, this study pioneers the exploration of the CICP's impact on China's CEP. Drawing from government intervention and green paradox theories, this study highlights a concerning scenario: local governments achieve emission targets via excessive intervention. For deeper insights, this study melds the overall technology frontier concept with a non-radial, non-angle directional distance function, introducing a novel efficiency model rooted in the Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) method. This offers a CEP measure across 30 Chinese provincial regions from 2002 to 2019. Using the quasi-difference-in-differences (quasi-DID) and moderated mediation models, this study ascertains the presence of the green paradox, uncovers its reasons, and suggests mitigation strategies. The results indicate that high government intervention diminishes CEP. This negative effect intensifies under greater regional fiscal pressure. Alarmingly, local authorities' eagerness to meet targets shows a counterproductive, inverted N-shaped trend regarding CICPs' time-based influence on regional CEP. Moreover, the impact varies based on regional economic development levels and stages. This study has ensured the robustness of the findings via parallel trend tests, parallel exclusion policies, a strengthened quasi-DID framework, and diverse control variable configurations. This study underscores the need for more balanced government intervention. It offers valuable policy insights, guiding China's upcoming CICP phase to realize the ambition of peaking carbon by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

Fiscal centralization and urban industrial pollution emissions reduction: Evidence from the vertical reform of environmental administrations in China

The relationship between fiscal regimes and urban industrial pollution emissions is unclear. This paper aims to explore the effects and mechanisms of fiscal centralization on urban industrial pollution emissions and environmental quality. Using the vertical reform of environmental administrations (VREA) in China as a quasi-natural experiment of fiscal centralization, this study applies a staggered difference-in-differences (DID) model to explore the differences in industrial pollution emissions between centralization cities and decentralization cities. The main findings are: (1) VREA significantly inhibits regional industrial pollution emissions, and the reform effect increases over time. This conclusion still holds after considering a series of robustness issues. (2) Industrial sulfur dioxide (SO2) and solid particulate emissions in the fiscal centralization cities have decreased significantly by 0.3281% and 0.2240%, respectively. However, there is no significant change in industrial wastewater discharges. (3) Environmental regulations, environmental expenditures, and pollution control investments of local governments are the main channels through which VREA reduces industrial pollution emissions. (4) The effects of VREA are more significant in central and western cities and small cities. (5) Relative to decentralization cities, centralization cities have improved air and water quality by 0.0825% and 0.1628%, respectively. These findings help to accurately assess the effects of fiscal centralization on regional environmental governance and provide a decision-making reference for further deepening environmental centralization reform in China.

How does financial decentralization synergies carbon reduction and pollution control in China?

This study looks at how carbon reduction, pollution management, and monetary decentralization in China all work together for a win-win situation. Since China is the most significant contributor to global warming, the country must implement policies to cut carbon emissions and curb pollution. One possible answer is financial decentralization, delegating federal financial responsibilities, and decisions to state and regional governments. The study used the weighted matrix analysis technique, LM matrix analysis technique, and ARDL short-run and long-run analysis estimates. However, the degree to which it will help China reduce carbon emissions and regulate pollution is unclear. This study takes a multifaceted approach to the investigation of this problem. Determining the efficacy of financial decentralization in addressing environmental concerns and drawing policy implications for China's environmental governance framework requires investigating the drivers of this trend and the mechanisms through which it operates. We perform a comprehensive empirical analysis to examine the results of using Chinese data from 1999 to 2019. This study's results provide new information to the literature by showcasing the power of fiscal decentralization in propelling environmentally sound policies in China. Central policy takeaways from the report include decentralizing financial authority to local governments, encouraging cooperation across multiple tiers of government, and setting up effective systems for monitoring and enforcing compliance. These policy suggestions can help China decrease carbon emissions and regulate pollution more efficiently, paving the way to better environmental results and a more sustainable future.

Research on the relationship between population distribution pattern and urban industrial facility agglomeration in China

Investigating the impact of industrial facility agglomeration on population distribution provides valuable insights for advancing urban and regional development, as well as aiding in planning, forecasting, and achieving regional equilibrium. However, there remains a notable gap in understanding the influence and mechanisms of industrial facility agglomeration on population distribution, particularly when considering different industry types and diverse regions comprehensively. Additionally, conventional panel data used to assess industrial facility agglomeration are constrained by limitations in coverage and timeliness. In contrast, Point of Interest (POI) data offers a superior solution with its real-time, fine-grained, and innovative advantages. This study utilizes real-time and fine-grained POI data in conjunction with the LandScan population raster dataset to precisely assess industrial facility agglomeration in 352 administrative units at the prefecture level and above in China. The key findings of this research can be summarized as follows: (1) factors influencing urban population growth rates have evolved, with increased significance attributed to Government Agencies and Social Groups, alongside a consistent impact from Science, Education, and Cultural Services. (2) The correlation between industrial facility agglomerations and population growth rates displayed linear relationships in 2015 and 2021, with varying strengths and directional shifts. (3) Regional disparities in industrial facility agglomeration patterns underscore the necessity for customized strategies to optimize industrial structures, foster innovation-driven sectors, and promote sustainable population growth.

The pollution control effect of regional integration: An empirical study based on Urban Agglomeration Planning in China

Regional integration is an important trend of economic development worldwide, which helps to break the restrictions of administrative divisions on economic development and pollution control. According to the relevant theories of environmental economic geography, regional integration will have an important impact on regional pollution control. Based on China's urban panel data, we empirically tested the impact of regional integration on regional environmental pollution and its mechanism by using econometric analysis methods, such as the difference-in-differences model and the mediating effect model. We found that regional integration can effectively reduce urban pollutant emissions and that the emission reduction effect of regional integration is characterized by significant heterogeneity at different pollution levels. The mechanism analysis showed that the green technology innovation effect of regional integration is an important mechanism for promoting urban emission reduction. The conclusions of this paper enrich the relevant theories of environmental economic geography and provide new ideas to implement integration strategies to promote sustainable economic development in developing countries.

The land finance and eco-product value nexus: Evidence from fiscal decentralization in China

This study aimed to shed new light on the land finance and eco-product value nexus from the perspective of fiscal decentralization, using data collected from 276 Chinese prefectures between 2005 and 2020. We employed a two-way fixed effects model to explore land finance, fiscal decentralization, and the eco-product value nexus. Our findings revealed that land finance has a noticeable disincentive influence on eco-product value. The impact of land finance on the ecological value of wetlands is much higher than on that of other land types. Additionally, fiscal expenditure decentralization plays a negative regulatory role between land finance and eco-product value. This effect is further strengthened with an increase in the fiscal decentralization level. Our findings suggest that standardizing local government land-granting behavior and making land finance more ecologically friendly through policy implementation will effectively contribute to the sustainable development of China.

The drivers of carbon emissions in China: the perspective of fiscal decentralization

Fiscal decentralization determines government behavior considerably by being a major factor influencing China's carbon emissions. We analyze the impact of fiscal decentralization on carbon emissions on basis of the dataset of 30 Chinese areas for the period 2008 to 2020. We reveal that fiscal decentralization significantly raises carbon emissions, but worsens carbon emission efficiency. The impact of fiscal decentralization on carbon emissions varies significantly by geographical location and economic development level shocks. Local governments increase the expenditure on economic services while reducing the expenditure on basic public services as a result of the fiscal decentralization scheme, which is an important reason why the carbon emission level cannot be effectively improved. As such, it is necessary to keep pace with the times, and build a service-oriented government, and capitalize on the capabilities of local governments in terms of their service duties so as to maximize carbon reduction.

Role of financial decentralization on carbon taxation and carbon emission: Way forwards for economic recovery

The study intends to assess the role of financial decentralization on carbon taxation and carbon emission to recommend the way forwards for economic recovery. To estimate the nexus, study applied the cointegration analysis technique, CGE estimation model, long-run analysis using t-CGE model, and robustness analysis technique on Chinese data. Research findings declare that financial decentralization has significant role on extending the carbon taxation in China and financial decentralization supported 14.92% to expand carbon taxation throughout the Chinese industries. In such industries, pollution emission industries are the top of the list including transportation industry and other manufacturing companies. Overall, manufacturing industries size is about 78% and 11% size of transportation industry is included. Correspondingly, the findings also revealed that financial decentralization supports climate change mitigation with 29% and carbon taxation limits carbon emission with 44% in Chinese industries. Study directs to the stakeholders to enhance carbon taxation schemes in all sectors of the all the industries of China and come up with the viable policy action so that the desired sustainable development goals may achieve effectively. Hence, stakeholders need to consider recommendations of preceding research to enhance green economic recovery.

Fiscal decentralization, industrial structure upgrading, and carbon emissions: evidence from China

The debate over the role of fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading in China's environmental governance has received increasing attention. Based on China's provincial panel data from 2003 to 2019, this paper investigates the impact of fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading on carbon emissions to provide empirical evidence for the above theoretical argument. The results show that fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading are negatively correlated with carbon emissions, while the interaction term for fiscal decentralization with industrial structure upgrading presents a facilitating effect on carbon emissions. Besides, fiscal decentralization, industrial structure upgrading, and the interaction term have significant regional heterogeneity on carbon emissions. When fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading are taken as threshold variables, the effects of industrial structure upgrading and fiscal decentralization are significantly nonlinear. Moreover, environmental regulation, transportation infrastructure, and carbon emissions are positively correlated. There exists an inverted U-shaped relationship between carbon emissions and economic growth, which proves environmental Kuznets curve theorem. However, FDI and urbanization have no significant effect on carbon emissions. According to the above conclusions, it is necessary to strengthen the positive interaction between fiscal decentralization and industrial structure upgrading in mitigating carbon emissions, promoting the green and low-carbon transformation of China's economy, thus realizing the goals of "carbon peak" and "carbon neutrality."

Examining the relationship between fiscal decentralization, renewable energy intensity, and carbon footprints in Canada by using the newly constructed bootstrap Fourier Granger causality test in quantile

Current paper studies the nexus between fiscal decentralization, renewable energy intensity, and carbon footprints in Canada. Preliminary empirical findings strictly reject the preposition of data normality and highlight that the observed nexus is quantile dependent. Additionally, our test looks for systematic deviations from zero in the causality at a certain quantile and frequency. In particular, we consider the bootstrap Fourier Granger causality test in quantile. At each frequency, we test the sample causality against the distribution of the median causality across frequencies estimated for that process, which may disclose the misleading causal link in previous studies using only traditional Granger causality. Our results show a negative one-way Granger causality from fiscal decentralization to carbon footprints (quantiles: 0.1-0.9) and renewable energy intensity to carbon footprints, respectively (quantiles: 0.1-0.9). Herein, results show a positive one-way Granger causality through fiscal decentralization to renewable energy intensity (quantiles: 0.3-0.7). These conclusions are used to formulate policy suggestions.

Urban land expansion, fiscal decentralization and haze pollution: Evidence from 281 prefecture-level cities in China

Urban land expansion will influence aspects of economy and society, including the quality of the urban environment. This study aims to examine the impacts of urban land expansion in China on haze pollution under the fiscal decentralization system using the spatial Durbin model. Urban land expansion is measured using two dimensions of urban land expansion, namely, intensity and orderliness of the structure of urban land expansion. The results reveal that urban haze pollution in China exhibits significant positive spillover characteristics, which manifest as "high-high" and "low-low" characteristics of spatial agglomeration. In general, improving the expansion intensity of urban land and the orderly structure of urban land expansion can reduce haze pollution in local and surrounding areas. With the improvement of the degree of fiscal decentralization, the positive effect of an orderly urban land structure in reducing haze pollution will be weakened. The above-mentioned influences depict distinct heterogeneities at the levels of city size, type, and location.

Going green in China: how does digital finance affect environmental pollution? Mechanism discussion and empirical test

With the continuous advancement of the technological revolution and industrial transformation, environmental governance supported by digital finance has become an important engine for achieving carbon neutrality. Based on panel data from 30 provinces in China, this study discusses the spatial spillover effect and transmission mechanism between digital finance and environmental pollution. Our research results confirm that the inhibitory effect of digital finance on local environmental pollution gradually increases with the improvement of digital finance. Interestingly, digital finance has a significant positive spatial spillover effect on environmental pollution in surrounding areas. The mediating effect shows that digital finance can alleviate environmental pollution by improving technological innovation, industrial upgrading and industrial structure rationalization. A higher degree of marketization and governmental support can increase the positive influences of digital finance on pollution reduction. This research proves the effectiveness of digital finance in improving environmental governance, and it encourages policy-makers around the world to rely on digital finance to promote ecological governance and achieve high-quality economic development.

The green paradox puzzle: fiscal decentralisation, environmental regulation, and agricultural carbon intensity in China

China has the highest carbon dioxide emissions worldwide. Exploring the mechanism of fiscal decentralisation on agricultural carbon intensity can help China reach its carbon peak and become carbon neutral. This study used panel data for 30 provinces in Mainland China from 2000 to 2019 and constructed a spatial Durbin model to investigate the spatial-temporal patterns and internal relationships among fiscal decentralisation, environmental regulation, and agricultural carbon intensity. The results indicated that (1) from 2000 to 2019, the agricultural carbon intensity showed a downward trend and showed a spatial pattern of 'high in the north and low in the south'. The degree of fiscal decentralisation has gradually increased, and the spatial pattern of 'high in the north and low in the south' has also emerged. The intensity of environmental regulation continues to increase, and the intensity of environmental regulation in inland areas is higher than that in coastal areas. (2) From 2000 to 2019, the global Moran index of agricultural carbon intensity showed a development trend of first rising and then falling, and the spatial correlation changed from strong to weak. Agricultural carbon intensity tends to develop from polarisation to balanced development. (3) Both fiscal decentralisation and environmental regulation can reduce agricultural carbon intensity, and environmental regulation has a negative spatial spillover effect. (4) Under the influence of fiscal decentralisation, environmental regulation is not conducive to reducing agricultural carbon intensity due to the characteristics of 'race to the bottom', causing the 'green paradox' effect. (5) Environmental regulation and fiscal decentralisation in main grain producing areas have less impact on agricultural carbon intensity than in non-main grain producing areas. Therefore, the central government should focus on optimising the fiscal decentralisation system, formulating a differentiated agricultural carbon emission control system, regulating competition among local governments, and optimising a political performance evaluation system.

The impact of fiscal decentralization, green energy, and economic policy uncertainty on sustainable environment: a new perspective from ecological footprint in five OECD countries

The paper explores the short-run and long-run asymmetric impact of fiscal decentralization, green energy, and economic policy uncertainty on environmental sustainability proxied by ecological footprint. Using the Nonlinear Autoregressive Distributed lag (NARDL) approach in selected five OECD countries, we find that ecological footprint responds to positive and negative fiscal decentralization asymmetrically in the long run and short run. However, the nature of the response varies significantly across countries. The result also suggests that green energy is a major factor in reducing the ecological footprint in all countries except Canada. Finally, economic policy uncertainty plays a negative and significant role in the ecological footprint in the UK, USA, and Germany while insignificant in Australia and Canada. Implications for effective environmental policies are discussed.

Revisiting the nexus between fiscal decentralization and environment: evidence from fiscally decentralized economies

Fiscal decentralization is a topic of great importance, especially in the context of environmental sustainability. Numerous research studies have been conducted on fiscal decentralization providing conflicting results, and therefore, the current study fills the gap by examining the effect of fiscal decentralization on environmental quality in the presence of environment-related technological innovation, renewable energy consumption, international trade, and economic growth taking seven fiscally decentralized advanced OECD countries as a case study. Using data from 1990 to 2018, we employed the Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) to test the spatial spillover effect of fiscal decentralization on the environment in seven fiscally decentralized countries. The primary findings show that carbon emissions are affected by the associated regions, which significantly correlates with the spatial distribution, and in the short run, fiscal decentralization increases carbon emissions. However, in the long run, fiscal decentralization decreases carbon emissions and is essential for achieving the goals of net-zero carbon emission. The results also show that the indirect effect is significantly positive in the economic-geographical weight matrix, and the spatial spillover effect of fiscal decentralization is not conducive to the environment of countries with economic exchanges. Furthermore, fiscal decentralization has a threshold effect, and the results show that when the fiscal decentralization degree is higher, it significantly reduces CO₂ emissions. Any policy in these countries that target renewable energy, fiscal decentralization, and eco-innovation will significantly reduce carbon emissions.

The impact of environmental regulation on China’s industrial green development and its heterogeneity

The research analyzes the impact of environmental regulation on industrial green development using panel data from 30 provinces in China from 2006 to 2018. We employ the Super-slack-based measuring (SBM) model to measure the level of domestic industrial green development and use the ordinary panel model, the panel threshold model, and the spatial panel model for empirical estimation. The results reveal that the environmental regulation index plays a significant role in promoting such development. Environmental regulation index, command-and-control environmental regulation, market-incentive environmental regulation, and public-participation environmental regulation all have only a single threshold of technological progress and fiscal decentralization. Further analysis shows that China’s industrial green development presents obvious spatial agglomeration characteristics, and there is a significantly positive spatial correlation between different environmental regulation indicators and industrial green development. Our findings provide useful policy recommendations for promoting industrial green development in China.

Evaluating the Effect of Chinese Environmental Regulation on Corporate Sustainability Performance: The Mediating Role of Green Technology Innovation

The environmental pollution that accompanies economic growth has always been of widespread concern. The chemical industry is a highly energy-consuming industry in China, and the pollution this industry causes to the environment cannot be ignored. The paper is based on the Porter hypothesis and uses data from different regions of China. In this paper, we investigate the mediating role of different types of environmental regulation (divided into command-controlled, market-incentive, and voluntary environmental regulation) in positively affecting sustainability performance through green technology innovation (divided into green product innovation, green process innovation, and end-of-line management innovation). The results show that different versions of the Porter hypothesis can be accepted in Chinese chemical enterprises. This finding demonstrates that environmental regulation positively impacts both green technology innovation and sustainability performance. Green technology innovation plays a mediating role between environmental regulation and sustainability performance, especially in East China. However, the mediating effect of green product innovation is not significant. Further study shows that command-controlled environmental regulation has a more significant positive effect on sustainability performance. This suggests that the market-incentive and voluntary environmental regulation tools do not fully play their functional roles. Thus, the paper demonstrates the developmental shortcomings of environmental regulation, green technology innovation, and sustainability performance. This is more conducive to chemical enterprises improving green technology innovation and achieving long-term development and ecological environment protection.

The effect of fiscal decentralization, environmental regulation, and economic development on haze pollution: empirical evidence for 270 Chinese cities during 2007-2016

The current discourse addresses fiscal issues, financial decentralization, and environmental quality and significantly affects economic development and sustainability. This investigation aims to address the research gap in fiscal decentralization and haze pollution for innovation and sustainable growth. This study uses the annual data of 270 Chinese cities from 2007 to 2016 for comprehensive analysis and employs spatial regression methods. The key findings imply that haze pollution in neighbouring cities causes further ecological issues. While the environmental regulations of China tend to have negative impacts on pollution, fiscal decentralization was found to be a key contributor to environmental pollution in Chinese cities. Overall, the study supports the validity of the pollution refuge hypothesis in China. Lastly, the conclusions allow us to conclude that China might need micro-level reforms regarding fiscal decentralization, environmental tax laws, and encouragement of cleaner production technologies.

Can environmental regulations break down domestic market segmentation? Evidence from China

While local protectionism and market segmentation owing to fiscal decentralization are not conducive to broad economic development, they may be rational choices on a local scale. Based on a spatial Durbin model, we analyzed the relationship between environmental regulations and market segmentation in China using interprovincial panel data for 2004-2018. The results indicated that the "beggar-thy-neighbor" phenomenon persists in China; environmental regulations have a U-shaped impact on market segmentation, i.e., in most regions, environmental regulation can break down market segmentation. Regions with greater decentralization are better able to promote local market integration through environmental regulation, suggesting that local governments are better able to compensate for market failures when vested with greater power. Hence, we propose that the central government should improve performance evaluation indicators for local governments and grant them greater autonomy; additionally, local governments should increase the intensity of environmental regulations as appropriate, thereby promoting both environmental protection and the unification of domestic markets.

Industrial ecological efficiency of cities in the Yellow River Basin in the background of China's economic transformation: spatial-temporal characteristics and influencing factors

At present, China's economic development has entered a "new normal." Exploring industrial ecological efficiency (IEE) in the background of economic transformation is of great significance to promote China's industrial transformation and upgrading and achieving high-quality economic development. Based on the super-efficiency DEA model, this study evaluated the IEE of cities in the Yellow River Basin from 2008 to 2017. Exploratory spatial data analysis methods were used to explore the spatial-temporal evolutionary characteristics, and a panel regression model was established to explore the influencing factors of IEE. The research results showed that the IEE in the Yellow River Basin exhibited an elongated S-shaped evolutionary trend from 2008 to 2017, and the mean IEE of cities presented a trend, whereby Yellow River Basin's regions could be ranked in the following order: lower reaches > middle reaches > upper reaches. There was significant spatial autocorrelation of the IEE in the Yellow River Basin, and the hot and cold spots showed an obvious "spatial clubs" phenomenon. The results of panel regression show that the influence factors of IEE in the Yellow River Basin showed spatial heterogeneity in their effect.

Controlling environmental pollution: dynamic role of fiscal decentralization in CO2 emission in Asian economies

The "environment" has become one of the important and debatable topics of the world and policymakers identifying the new predictors of CO2 emissions. Therefore, some economies have been promoting fiscal decentralization to encourage environmental quality by granting more financial autonomy to provincial and sub-national governments. Therefore, this study evaluates the dynamic effect of fiscal decentralization on CO2 in selected nine Asian economies using a fresh dynamic panel ARDL model from 1984 to 2017. The empirical findings show that fiscal decentralization has asymmetric effects on CO2 emissions because a positive change in revenue and expenditure decentralization reduced CO2 emissions in Asia. Moreover, a negative change in expenditure decentralization has also enhanced CO2 emissions in the long run. Thus, clean environmental policies and recommendations can be revised and proposed based on nonlinear findings in the modern era.

Nexus between fiscal imbalance and emissions reduction: New evidence from developing economies

The triple components of energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, and economic expansion are important to achieving sustained economic activity and sound ecological advancement. This study aims to estimate the impact of wide-ranging parameters on environmental circumstances in South Asian countries. This analysis required two approaches: 1)quantile autoregressive distributed lag (QARDL) as an econometric model, and 2) data envelopment analysis (DEA) non-parametric comparable composite index to examine concurrently South Asian nations' data for the 2000-2018 period. The underscored category of the parameters were grouped into four key indices, namely financial, fiscal, human, and energy. The DEA's mathematical composite findings reveal varied circumstances regarding environmental self-maintenance in South Asian nations. India and Pakistan are doing quite well; Afghanistan is abysmal. In addition, the QARDL approach findings reveal that energy use and fiscal indicators abate pollution. Furthermore, the correlation between fiscal decentralization and ecological attributes is strengthened by the excellent level of institutions and human capital progress. There is a unidirectional impact emanating from fiscal devolution, gross domestic product, human capital, eco-innovation, and institutional excellence on carbon dioxide pollution, although different from the other correlations obtained.

Vertical environmental protection pressure, fiscal pressure, and local environmental regulations: evidence from China's industrial sulfur dioxide treatment

Incorporating vertical environmental protection pressure, fiscal pressure, and government environmental regulatory behavior into a unified research framework, this paper empirically tests local governments' regulatory behavior on sulfur dioxide under incompatible dual pressures using data of 30 regions in China from 2003 to 2017. The results show that as the vertical environmental protection pressure increases, local governments will improve the regulation intensity on sulfur dioxide. However, as local governments' fiscal pressure increases, the effect of vertical environmental protection pressure on local governments' environmental regulations will be weakened. Based on the "neighborhood imitation effect," the impact of neighboring regions is considered when measuring fiscal pressure. The results still show that fiscal pressure will weaken the improving effect of vertical environmental protection pressure on the local government's environmental regulation. After controlling the endogenous problem and a series of robustness tests, the above conclusions are still valid. The results indicate that improving the status of environmental protection in the performance evaluation is an effective means to promote the implementation of environmental regulations by local governments. However, China's environmental governance cannot depend solely on improving the proportion of environmental protection in performance evaluations of local officials. A reasonable promotion incentive mechanism should be designed to avoid the incompatibility pressure caused by conflicting tasks to distort the local government's compliance with the central government's pollution control intention.

An evolutionary analysis of corruption in the process of collecting environmental tax in China

Considering the bargaining power of enterprises, this paper distinguishes between "Offering Bribes Voluntarily" (OBV) and "Offering Bribes under Pressure from Environmental Inspectors" (NOBV). An evolutionary game model between environmental inspectors and enterprises is constructed to study the corruption of environmental inspectors in the process of environmental tax collection under the system of upward accountability. At the same time, numerical simulations are carried out using China's pollution discharge data and pollution discharge fee collection standards in 2017. The results show that when enterprises have different bargaining powers, there are differences in the evolutionary stable strategy (ESS) in the process of environmental tax collection. Enterprises with weak bargaining power may adopt "OBV" strategy. Under the system of upward accountability, it is difficult for the public to form adequate supervision over polluting enterprises and environmental inspectors. Only with the power of the upper-level government can the public's supervisory role be brought into play. High audit costs and environmental tax rates may be objective incentives for environmental inspectors' corruption and enterprises' bribery.

Do fiscal decentralization and natural resources rent curb carbon emissions? Evidence from developed countries

This study provides new insight by introducing the role of fiscal decentralization and natural resources rent in affecting CO₂ emissions. For assessing this objective, this paper use panel data from seven highly fiscal decentralized Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries from 1990 to 2018. For empirical analysis, we use the Westerlund test and cross-sectional autoregressive distributive lag model. In order to ascertain the integration order of variables, the study utilizes the Pesaran second-generation unit-root test. The findings reveal that all the variables are stationary at first difference. The long-run results confirm that fiscal decentralization and natural resources rent improve the atmosphere by reducing CO₂ emissions. Moreover, gross domestic product and total natural resources rent increase, while improvement in institutional quality reduces CO₂ emissions. For policy implication, this study recommends that transferring the power to the local governments will further reduce CO₂ emissions and shift these countries to more environmentally friendly sources.

The nonlinear impact of fiscal decentralization on carbon emissions: from the perspective of biased technological progress

The impact of Chinese-style fiscal decentralization (FD) on environmental pollution has been studied. Using data from 285 prefecture-level cities across the country from 2003 to 2018. A panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) model of fiscal decentralization's impact on carbon emissions under energy and environmental-biased technology progress is established. The research shows that biased technological progress determines the direction of the impact of FD on carbon emissions. In areas with low level of energy and environmental-biased technological progress, FD increases carbon emissions. FD reduces carbon emissions in areas with higher environmental technology level but increases carbon emissions in areas with higher energy-biased technology progress. This study has theoretical and practical significance for China's decentralization system, biased technological progress, and carbon peak target.

Relationship between FDI, fiscal expenditure and green total-factor productivity in China: From the perspective of spatial spillover

Deeply investigating the relationship between foreign direct investment (FDI), fiscal expenditure and green total-factor productivity (GTFP) is beneficial to formulating effective policies to promote the high-quality development in China. Based on theoretical mechanism analysis, with panel data of China’s mainland 30 provinces during 2003–2017, this paper utilizes spatial econometric model to empirically explore the effects of FDI, fiscal expenditure and their interaction item on the growth of GTFP in China. The results show that FDI significantly promote the growth of the local and its neighboring GTFP, and both fiscal expenditure and the interaction between FDI and fiscal expenditure exert significantly negative effects on the growth of GTFP in the local and its neighboring regions. A series of robustness checks and the endogeneity test can ensure the reliability of these results. In addition, great heterogeneity can be found across China’s different regions in the relationship between FDI, fiscal expenditure and GTFP. The conclusions suggest that it is necessary to give fully play to the synergy between FDI and fiscal expenditure and formulate regionally targeted policies to improve GTFP and promote high-quality development in China.

The Relationship between Environmental Regulations and Green Economic Efficiency: A Study Based on the Provinces in China

This study examined the relationship between environmental regulations (ER) and green economic efficiency (GEE) based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2008 to 2017. Firstly, GEE was calculated and evaluated using the super-efficiency SBM model with undesirable outputs. Secondly, the impact of ER on GEE was studied with the Tobit model. Finally, this article draws conclusions based on the above analysis and offers some suggestions for government and enterprise. The results show that the GEE of China is generally low. The GEE of the eastern region is much higher than that of the middle and western regions, with the western region performing slightly better than the middle. From west to east, there is a V shape, with high efficiency in the west and east and low efficiency in the middle. The impact of ER on GEE has the characteristics of nonlinearity and spatial heterogeneity. At the national level, as well as in the middle and western regions, the impact of ER on GEE shows an inverted U shape that first rises and then falls. ER are currently within the range conducive to the development of GEE. If the intensity of ER exceeds the critical value, they will have a negative impact on GEE. In the eastern region, the impact of ER on GEE is shown as a U shape that first falls and then rises. At present, the ER are not of sufficient intensity to contribute to the improvement of GEE. Only when the intensity of the ER exceeds the critical value will they have a positive influence on the GEE.