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Zhu H, Cai P, Fang H, Zhu Z, Li Y, Zhu R. Environmental regulation, industrial structure and energy efficiency: Evidence from 30 provinces in China. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0299731. [PMID: 38768191 PMCID: PMC11104590 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0299731] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2023] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
The government's environmental protection policy can significantly contribute to alleviating resource shortages and curbing environmental pollution, but the impact of various policy instruments implemented by the government on energy efficiency is unclear. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2021, this paper analyses the impact of environmental regulation and the industrial structure on energy efficiency from the perspective of resource taxes. The U-shaped relationship between environmental regulation and energy efficiency and between the optimization of industrial structure can significantly improve energy efficiency, and the optimization of industrial structure is conducive to weakening the initial inhibitory effect of environmental regulation. In addition, the analysis of regional heterogeneity showed that the impact of environmental regulation was stronger in the central and western regions, while the impact of industrial structure was stronger in the eastern and western regions. The conclusions of this study can help to expand the understanding of the relationship between environmental regulation and industrial structure on energy efficiency, provide policy enlightenment for the realization of green development and high-quality development, and provide Chinese examples and experiences for developing countries to improve energy efficiency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haicheng Zhu
- School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics, Hangzhou, China
- Department of Sinology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - Penghui Cai
- School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hao Fang
- School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics, Hangzhou, China
| | - Zhengyu Zhu
- School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yao Li
- School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance & Economics, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ruoqing Zhu
- Architecture and Design Department, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
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Zhang X, Zhang R, Wang Y, Zhao M, Zhao X. Government intervention, industrial structure, and energy eco-efficiency: an empirical research on new energy demonstration in cities. Sci Rep 2023; 13:19446. [PMID: 37945754 PMCID: PMC10636152 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-46799-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/05/2023] [Indexed: 11/12/2023] Open
Abstract
This study investigates the relationships among government intervention, industrial structure, and energy eco-efficiency (EE). Energy eco-efficiency was measured based on a non-radial directional distance function for 236 cities in China from 2005 to 2019. Additionally, the difference-in-difference model (DID) method and spatial econometric models were used to analyse the impact of government intervention and industrial structure on energy eco-efficiency and their spatial spill-over effects. Government intervention includes fiscal expenditures and policy orientation for new energy demonstration construction. Our results indicate that: China's EE has a fluctuating upward trend and increased 17.85% in the period, and its spatial distribution imbalance gradually developed into a regional distribution balance. Moreover, government intervention and adjustment of the industrial structure improved urban energy eco-efficiency by 7.43% and 0.92%, respectively, which also has spatial spill-over effects in neighbouring regions. Furthermore, economic development, technological innovation, and foreign direct investment enable EE. However, urbanisation hinders the improvement of energy eco-efficiency. Finally, heterogeneity analysis showed that the policy of the new energy demonstration city has better effects on eastern and western cities in promoting EE.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyi Zhang
- School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Rui Zhang
- School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing, 100083, China.
| | - Yue Wang
- School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Meilin Zhao
- School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Xin Zhao
- School of Management, China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing), Beijing, 100083, China
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Jiang Y, Ramzan M, Awosusi AA, Adebayo TS. Moderating role of green innovation and fiscal expenditure towards achieving the Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 at provincial-level in China: policy implication from green total factor productivity. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2023; 30:102818-102838. [PMID: 37674063 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-29551-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/21/2023] [Accepted: 08/23/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
Amidst resource loss and environmental protection constraints, achieving green development necessitates enhancing green total factor productivity (GTFP) as a means of promoting rational and efficient resource allocation, thereby balancing economic growth and environmental preservation. Meanwhile, literature on the subject matter of GTFP from a sustainability viewpoint is minimal. As a result, this study employs the panel dataset from 30 provinces of China spanning the period 2005 to 2020 and utilizes the method of moments quantile regression (MMQR) developed by Machado and Santos Silva (2019) to analyze the heterogeneous role of green innovation, environmental regulations, and fiscal expenditure on GTFP. Moreover, the controlling variable for this study includes renewable energy and economic growth. Furthermore, this study investigates the heterogeneous combined impact of green innovation and fiscal expenditure (GTE*FSE) on GTFP. The findings of the MMQR reveal that green innovation has a positive impact on GTFP, while fiscal expenditure, environmental regulations, and renewable energy consumption have a negative impact. GTE*FSE has a positive and significant effect on GTFP, indicating that FSE can reinforce and increase the positive impact of GTE on GTFP in the long run. The study also reveals that economic growth has a mixed effect on GTFP, depending on the quantiles. Furthermore, environmental regulation has a significant and negative impact on GTFP, contradicting the Porter hypothesis. Likewise, the robustness of the findings is confirmed by the results of the fully modified OLS (FMOLS) and dynamic OLS (DOLS) estimations, which indicate a similar impact of the determinants on GTFP as observed in the MMQR analysis. This reinforces the validity of the findings and suggests that the observed relationships are robust to different estimation techniques. Furthermore, the findings of the Dumitrescu and Hurlin (D-H) panel causality test reveal significant bidirectional causality between renewable energy consumption and GTFP and fiscal expenditure and GTFP. Policy-makers need to channel a large chuck of their fiscal spending into green innovation so as to boost sustainability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yongzhong Jiang
- College of Management Science, Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, 610051, China
| | - Muhammad Ramzan
- Faculty of Management and Administrative Sciences, Department of Business Administration, University of Sialkot, Punjab, Pakistan.
- Adnan Kassar School of Business, Lebanese American University, Beirut, Lebanon.
| | - Abraham Ayobamiji Awosusi
- Department of Economics & Data Sciences, New Uzbekistan University, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
- Faculty of Economics, Administrative and Social Science, Department of Economics, Bahçeşehir Cyprus University, Northern Cyprus, Mersin 10, Turkey
| | - Tomiwa Sunday Adebayo
- Faculty of Economics and Administrative Science, Department of Business Administration, Cyprus International University, Northern Cyprus, Mersin 10, Turkey
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Fang Y, Cao H, Sun J. Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Regional Green Development under China's Environmental Decentralization System-Based on Spatial Durbin Model and Threshold Effect. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:14776. [PMID: 36429493 PMCID: PMC9690123 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192214776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 11/05/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Artificial intelligence (AI) is the core technology of digital economy, which leads the transition to a sustainable economic growth approach under the Chinese-style environmentally decentralized system. In this paper, we first measured the green total factor productivity (GTFP) of 30 Chinese provinces from 2011 to 2020 using the super-efficiency slacks-based measure (SBM) model, analyzed the mechanism of the effect of AI on GTFP under the environmental decentralization regime, and secondly, empirically investigated the spatial evolution characteristics and the constraining effect of the impact of AI on GTFP using the spatial Durbin model (SDM) and the threshold regression model. The findings reveal: a U shape of the correlation of AI with GTFP; environmental decentralization acts as a positive moderator linking AI and GTFP; the Moran index demonstrates the spatial correlation of GTFP; under the constraint of technological innovation and regional absorptive capacity as threshold variables, the effect of AI over GTFP is U-shaped. This paper provides a useful reference for China to accelerate the formation of a digital-driven green economy development model.
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Gao C, Wen Y, Yang D. Governance, financial development and China’s outward foreign direct investment. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0270581. [PMID: 35771853 PMCID: PMC9246154 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Deeply investigating the relationship between governance, financial development, and outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) is beneficial to formulating effective policies to accelerate Chinese firms’ pace of overseas expansion. Based on the theoretical mechanism analysis, this paper empirically analyzes the impact of Asian governance and financial development on China’s OFDI using the panel data of 37 Asian countries from 2003 to 2017. The results show that the host country governance has a negative and statistically significant impact on China’s direct investment in Asia. The conclusion remains valid even after overcoming the interference of endogenous and economic cycle fluctuations. Moreover, using the mediating effect model, we find that financial development is an important channel through which host country governance affects China’s OFDI. In further discussion, the findings suggest that with the scale of OFDI expanding, the role of governance takes an inverted "U" shape, and the "Belt and Road" initiative (BRI) weakens the negative impact of governance quality on China’s OFDI. Furthermore, governance has shown more remarkable restraint on China’s OFDI in neighboring, coastal, and low-income countries in the heterogeneity test. From the perspective of host country governance, this paper provides more specific guidance to formulate China’s direct investment policy in Asia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Gao
- China Economics and Management Academy, Central University of Finance and Economics, Beijing, China
| | - Ya Wen
- School of Economics, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China
- * E-mail:
| | - Deyong Yang
- School of Economics, Beijing Technology and Business University, Beijing, China
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Heterogeneous Environmental Regulation, Foreign Direct Investment, and Regional Carbon Dioxide Emissions: Evidence from China. SUSTAINABILITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/su14116386] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
As an important means to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, environmental regulation (ER) and foreign direct investment (FDI) have become popular research topics in recent years. Most studies have examined the single impact of ER or FDI on CO2 emissions, while few investigated the regional heterogeneity and the spillover effect of different environmental regulations (ERs) on CO2 emissions and neglected the impact of the interaction mechanism between ER and FDI on CO2 emissions. This paper applies the spatial Durbin model (SDM) to explore the impact of different ERs and FDIs on regional CO2 emissions in China’s 30 provinces from 2003 to 2019. The results indicate that there are significant differences and regional heterogeneity in the effects of different environmental regulations on CO2 emissions at the national level. FDI has a significant promoting effect on CO2 emissions in the early years (2003–2009), especially in the eastern and western regions, but its effect is not significant in the late period (2010–2019). At the regional level, the abatement effects of the interaction term between FDIs and ERs are generally significant, indicating that ERs can influence the reduction effect of FDIs. Regulatory environmental regulation (RER) in the eastern region, command environmental regulation (CER), and economic environmental regulation (EER) in the central region can significantly affect the emission reduction effect of local FDI.
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Total Factor Productivity and High-Quality Economic Development: A Theoretical and Empirical Analysis of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, China. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2022; 19:ijerph19052783. [PMID: 35270474 PMCID: PMC8910435 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19052783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 02/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/24/2022] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
This paper focuses on the total factor productivity (TFP) and high-quality economic development in China by examining 11 Chinese provinces and cities in the Yangtze River Economic Belt from 2007 to 2018. We use the Solow residual method to calculate the TFP growth rate of the 11 provinces and cities. Based on the panel data, we have analyzed the influencing factors of TFP theoretically and empirically from the overall region and upstream region, and midstream region and downstream region, respectively. The regression results show that: (1) The whole characteristics generally show the TFP growth trend of the upstream region, midstream region and downstream region are consistent with that of the overall region, and the growth rate of TFP slows down gradually. Meanwhile the differences in TFP growth between the upstream region, midstream region and downstream region show an increase at first and then a decrease. (2) Regarding the influencing factors, there are differences in the direction and extent of the impact of each factor such as the level of openness, R&D investment, industrial structure, government expenditure and human capital on the TFP of the overall region, upstream region, midstream region and downstream region. (3) Based on the results of the theoretical and empirical analysis, we have proposed a series of measures for the sustainable high-quality development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.
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Do Local Fiscal Expenditures Promote the Growth of Profit-Seeking Enterprise Numbers in Neighboring Areas? ECONOMIES 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/economies10020034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In order to allocate resources and formulate policies effectively, governments and enterprises often need accurate geographical information on profit-seeking enterprises. This study explores the impact of local fiscal expenditure and environmental regulation on the number of profit-seeking enterprises in Taiwan’s counties and cities from the perspective of spatial econometrics, and analyzes data from 2001 to 2019. After comparing the explanatory power differences of various spatial econometric models, the spatial Durbin model, with spatial and time fixed effects, was used to explore the direct effect on the number of local profit-seeking enterprises, and the spillover effect of the number of local profit-seeking enterprises in different geographical locations on neighboring regions, especially the spatial spillover effect of local fiscal expenditure and labor and environmental regulations. This paper discusses the decision-making choices of local government regarding the competition strategy of environmental regulation, and finally provides the policy implications for the government as a reference.
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Tan N, Chang L, Guo R. China's outward foreign direct investment in energy sector: The role of "intimate" relations between countries. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0254199. [PMID: 34252135 PMCID: PMC8274856 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2020] [Accepted: 06/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Based on the data of China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) in energy sector to 133 countries from 2005 to 2014, this paper uses a gravity model to investigate the impact of “intimate” relations on China’s OFDI locations in energy sector. We find that the “intimate” relations have significant effects on China’s OFDI locations in energy sector, namely: bilateral senior leaders’ visits, institutional distance, genetic distance, and immigration. Holding other factors fixed, for each one more bilateral senior leaders’ visit between China and the host country, China’s OFDI in energy sector for the host country will increase by 5.44%. If the genetic distance from China and host country increases by 1%, China’s OFDI in energy sector will fall by 1.69%. For every 1% increase in the institutional distance between China and host country, China’s energy OFDI will decrease by 1.09%. For every 1% increase in a country’s immigration to China, China’s energy OFDI will increase by 0.46%. Further, after distinguishing developed and developing countries, we find that compared with developed countries, “intimate” relations have greater impacts on China’s energy OFDI in developing countries. Finally, based on the dominance analysis, considering China’s “intimate” relations with countries along the “Belt and Road” and current locations of China’s OFDI, we find that China should further expand energy investment in countries along the “Belt and Road”.
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Affiliation(s)
- Na Tan
- Research Center for International Trade and Economics, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China
| | - Liang Chang
- School of Accounting, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China
- Research Center for Cross-Border M&A and Innovation Strategy, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China
- * E-mail:
| | - Rui Guo
- School of Finance, Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, Guangzhou, China
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