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Li Y. Sponge city construction and population health. Front Public Health 2024; 12:1285568. [PMID: 38351962 PMCID: PMC10863046 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1285568] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2024] [Indexed: 02/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction This paper focuses on the construction of sponge cities and their effects on population health. Sponge cities in China both solve stormwater problems and are a systemic transformation in the urban construction paradigm, addressing related issues arising from high-speed urbanization. Whether sponge city construction in China can promote population health has received scant attention. Most previous studies have focused on urban environments and population health, with few exploring the potential effects on population health caused by urban environment changes due to urban policies. This study hypothesizes that sponge city construction improves the urban environment, and thus, population health. Methods Using panel data from 119 prefecture-level cities between 2011 and 2019 and the China Labor-force Dynamics Survey (CLDS), based on China's sponge city pilot policy, a quasi-natural experiment is conducted using Difference-in-Differences (DID) model to identify the health effects of the sponge city policy. Results The findings show that sponge city pilot policy not only reduced ecological environment pollution and promoted the quality of built environment, but also significantly improved population health by 10.4%. This mechanism is mainly due to the restorative effects of the built environment. Discussion The health effects vary across city administrative levels, and especially among non-older adults and local populations. Compared with the cities at higher administrative level, the health effect in lower administrative level is significantly positive, indicating that there is a diminishing marginal effect of sponge city construction. This study extends the causal identification chain of the impact of urban environment on population health to urban policies and provide insights into policy objectives for sponge city construction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Li
- School of Public Administration and Policy, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China
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Yang J, Deng J, Ye L, Liu L, Hu X. Study on the impact of central environmental protection inspection on the health of the older adult population-A quasi-natural experiment in China. Front Public Health 2024; 12:1290192. [PMID: 38322126 PMCID: PMC10844512 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1290192] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2023] [Accepted: 01/03/2024] [Indexed: 02/08/2024] Open
Abstract
In 2015, the central government of China established the Central Environmental Protection Inspection (CEPI) system for oversight of local governments. It enhanced local government enforcement of environmental regulations, which had a considerable influence on the health of the local older adult population. This study quantifies the effects of local government regulation brought about by CEPI on the health of the older adult. It examines the impact mechanism using the DID model and panel data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS). The results show that (1) local governments' environmental protection regulations implemented by CEPI have a positive impact on the general health of the older adult. The results of the study passed the parallel trend test, PSM test, replacement variable test, and placebo test and remained significant; (2) in terms of the impact mechanism, CEPI has promoted local governments' environmental governance initiatives, which has reduced industrial wastewater emissions, industrial sulfur dioxide emissions, and industrial fumes emissions. This has improved air quality, thereby creating a good living environment for the older adult and improving their overall health; (3) according to heterogeneity research, the health of older adult living in the Yangtze River Basin, urban older adult, and older adult without chronic diseases is more significantly affected by the environmental protection regulations of the local governments brought about by CEPI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jiayu Yang
- West China Hospital of Sichuan University/Innovation Center of Nursing Research/Sichuan Key Laboratory of Nursing, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
- School of Economics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Juqiu Deng
- School of Economics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Lianguang Ye
- School of Economics, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Li Liu
- West China Hospital of Sichuan University/Innovation Center of Nursing Research/Sichuan Key Laboratory of Nursing, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
| | - Xiuying Hu
- West China Hospital of Sichuan University/Innovation Center of Nursing Research/Sichuan Key Laboratory of Nursing, Chengdu, Sichuan, China
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Qi X, Feng T, Deng R. Digital health care service reform and health inequity for older people: a quasi-natural experiment in China. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1217503. [PMID: 38026385 PMCID: PMC10662057 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1217503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Accepted: 10/20/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective Addressing health inequity (HI) for older people is a pivotal global public health concern, as it impedes the process of healthy ageing. The digital health care service reform (DHSR) emerges as a progressive public health approach to enhance the health and well-being of older adults by providing comprehensive and equitable medical services. This study elucidates the association between DHSR and HI for older individuals to augment comprehension of DHSR implementation. Methods The initiation of the action plan for smart health and eldercare (SHE) in 2017 serves as a quasi-natural experiment. Utilizing data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2015 and 2018, a propensity score matching (PSM) method was used to select samples, and a difference-in-differences (DID) regression was used to ascertain the net effect of DHSR on HI for older individuals in China. This methodology mitigates selection bias and segregates the DHSR effect from temporal shifts or other occurrences. Results The PSM-DID analysis reveals that DHSR reduced the HI index for older individuals by 0.301 (p < 0.01). Heterogeneity analyses indicate that the effect of DHSR was more pronounced in older males (-0.333, p < 0.01) than females (-0.251, p < 0.05). The impact of DHSR was notably higher for older population in the western (-0.557, p < 0.01) and central regions (-0.318, p < 0.05) compared to the eastern region, where the relationship was statistically non-significant. Conclusion The results demonstrate that DHSR plays a vital role in diminishing HI, fostering inclusive growth in public health. The study underscores the imperative of sustained DHSR endeavours and allocating resources to key older demographics to substantially mitigate HI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinzhu Qi
- School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Tieying Feng
- School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
| | - Renyi Deng
- School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
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Sun Z, Na X, Chu S. Impact of China's National Centralized Drug Procurement Policy on pharmaceutical enterprises' financial performance: a quasi-natural experimental study. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1227102. [PMID: 38026347 PMCID: PMC10654749 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1227102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction In China, the interest relationship between pharmaceutical enterprises and medical institutions has harmed the healthy development of pharmaceutical enterprises. In November 2018, the National Centralized Drug Procurement (NCDP) policy was published. The NCDP policy severs the interest relationship and significantly impacts on pharmaceutical enterprises's financial performance. Methods Using the implementation of China's National Centralized Drug Procurement (NCDP) policy as a quasi-natural experiment, this study evaluated the impact of participation in the NCDP policy on pharmaceutical enterprises' financial performance. We developed a difference-in-difference model to estimate the change in financial performance after NCDP implementation, based on financial data on Chinese listed pharmaceutical enterprises. Results We found that the bid-winning enterprises' financial performance significantly improved after participating in NCDP. This may be related to lower costs, market share expansion, and increased research and development investment by the bid-winning enterprises. Discussion To further promote the high-quality development of pharmaceutical enterprises in China, the government should expand the variety of drugs on the NCDP list (NCDP drugs), while improving the drug patent protection system and the policies to support the bid-winning enterprises.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Shuzhen Chu
- School of International Pharmaceutical Business, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing, China
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Niu S, Chen Y, Zhang R, Feng Y. How does the air pollution prevention and control action plan affect sulfur dioxide intensity in China? Front Public Health 2023; 11:1119710. [PMID: 36778568 PMCID: PMC9909473 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1119710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2022] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
As a part of China's efforts to mitigate and control air pollution in key areas, the Air Pollution Prevention and Control Action Plan was implemented in 2013, and several regulatory measures were introduced. Based on the data from 271 prefecture-level cities between 2008 and 2018, the difference-in-differences model is used to explore the effect of it on sulfur dioxide intensity in our study, and several significant results are as follows: (1) The baseline results suggest a 23% reduction in sulfur dioxide intensity in pilot cities compared to non-pilot cities. (2) The total factor productivity fails to play a partial mediating role in reducing the sulfur dioxide intensity under the implementation of the policy. (3) The results of the triple differences model suggest that the policy still exerts significant adverse effects on sulfur dioxide intensity in the pilot areas of the carbon emission trading scheme.
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Li Y, Xu S, Yin J, Huang G. Effect of air pollution on adult chronic diseases: Evidence from a quasi-natural experiment in China. Front Public Health 2023; 10:1105965. [PMID: 36711355 PMCID: PMC9880427 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1105965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023] Open
Abstract
We utilize a quasi-experiment derived from China's Huai River policy to investigate the effect of air pollution on adult chronic diseases. The policy led to higher pollution exposure in cities north of the river boundary because they received centralized coal-based heating supply from the government during winter, whereas cities in the south did not. By applying a geographic regression discontinuity design based on distance from the Huai River, we determine that a 10 μg/m3 increase in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) raises chronic diseases rates by 3.2% in adults, particularly cardiorespiratory system diseases. Furthermore, the same effects are observed on multiple chronic disease rates, but the rates are reduced to 1.3%. The effect of pollution exposure varies depending on age, gender, and urban/rural status. Our findings imply that reducing 10 μg/m3 of the average nationwide level of PM2.5 concentration will save 27.46 billion CNY (4.16 billion USD) in chronic disease costs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Li
- College of Management, Guangdong AIB Polytechnic, Guangzhou, China
| | - Sheng Xu
- School of Health Management, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China,*Correspondence: Sheng Xu ✉
| | - Jinghua Yin
- School of Insurance, Guangdong University of Finance, Guangzhou, China,Department of Economics, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Guan Huang
- Wenlan School of Business, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, Wuhan, China
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Yan D, Li P. Can Regional Integration Reduce Urban Carbon Emission? An Empirical Study Based on the Yangtze River Delta, China. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2023; 20:1395. [PMID: 36674150 PMCID: PMC9859513 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20021395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Revised: 01/08/2023] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Regional integration can significantly affect carbon emissions, but scholars have paid more attention to the impact of integration level, ignoring the importance of regional integration expansion. This study attempts to demonstrate whether, in the process of promoting carbon peak and carbon neutrality in China, the transformation of the administrative region's economy into an integrated economy based on urban agglomeration regional integration expansion affects urban carbon emissions. This study considers the regional integration expansion of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Economic Coordination Committee as a quasi-natural experiment, exploring the carbon emission reduction effect of regional integration with the difference-in-differences model. With the mediating and moderating effect models, this study examines the mechanism of regional integration affecting urban carbon emissions. The results show that regional integration, considering regional integration expansion, can significantly reduce urban carbon emissions. The carbon emission reduction effects of regional integration show significant heterogeneity. For example, there is a significant carbon emission reduction effect of high-hierarchy cities and an insignificant carbon emission reduction effect of general-hierarchy cities. Further research into the driving mechanism finds that deepening collaborative governance, industrial structure optimization, and green technology promotion brought about by regional integration are important mechanisms influencing urban carbon emissions. In addition, the carbon emission reduction effect of regional integration is influenced by the level of urban marketization and development efficiency. Different from the existing studies focusing on the effects of regional integration level, this study assesses the feasibility of promoting urban green development through urban agglomeration regional integration expansion. Based on the relevant empirical research, we propose to better promote high-quality development by strengthening urban agglomeration cooperation, optimizing urban development paths, strengthening innovative development, and improving macro political systems. It also indicates that the relevant policies should be formulated after considering local conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dongsheng Yan
- Public Administration School, Hohai University, Nanjing 211100, China
| | - Pingxing Li
- Key Laboratory of Watershed Geographic Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, CAS, Nanjing 210008, China
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Xu Y, Zou Y. COVID-19 online teaching intervention and learning performance of college foreign language students. Front Psychol 2023; 13:1109032. [PMID: 36704701 PMCID: PMC9871766 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1109032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2022] [Accepted: 12/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
This quasi-natural experimental study examined an online teaching intervention implemented in response to COVID-19 in China in 2020. It applied the difference-in-difference model to examine the impact and path of the intervention on students' learning performance of a college foreign language (LPCFL). Based on data from records of withdrawing and changing courses, classroom learning, and teaching evaluations; a questionnaire survey of teachers and students; and relevant school documents during the last seven terms, the results indicated that the online teaching intervention could significantly improve students' LPCFL. This finding remained robust after adopting a placebo test approach to mitigate possible endogeneity issues. Additionally, this study also conducted a group test through sub-sample regression based on students' discipline characteristics and intervention organization methods. The results showed that the students who participated in the intervention significantly improved in the three disciplines: humanities was most significantly affected, science and engineering were least significantly affected, and economics and management were in the middle. A range effect was observed for organizational methods. The two downward transmission methods by college teaching management terms had significant positive effects, whereas the other two methods of downward transmission by college student management had significant negative effects. An analysis of the action mechanism indicated that the online teaching intervention mostly improved LPCFL through two channels: students' learning input and learning support. Overall, these findings not only help expand the research framework on macro environmental intervention policy and micro-learning behavior but also have implications for the in-depth understanding of the real learning effect of online learning interventions for college students and their design in the post-COVID-19 era.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yufeng Xu
- Institute of Foreign Languages, Jiangxi Science and Technology Normal University, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China
| | - Yanfen Zou
- School of Business Administration, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, Jiangxi Province, China,*Correspondence: Zou Yanfen, ✉
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Feng Y, Gao Y, Zhu Y, Hu S. How does national development zone policy affect carbon emissions in China? New evidence from a quasi-natural experiment. Front Public Health 2023; 11:1122139. [PMID: 37089480 PMCID: PMC10117982 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1122139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 03/06/2023] [Indexed: 04/25/2023] Open
Abstract
The expansion of China's development zones has made great contributions to economic development, as well as provided practical guidance for other developing countries to implement development zone policies. However, in the context of global advocacy of low carbon, literature about how the development zone policy affect carbon emissions is poor, especially in China at the urban level. Therefore, this study takes China's development zone policy as a quasi-natural experiment, using the panel data of 285 cities in China from 2003 to 2020, and adopting the DID model to analyze its impact on carbon emissions. After a series of robustness tests including placebo test, dynamic test (all independent variables are lagged by one period), endogeneity test, and parallel trend test, the results are basically robust. The findings show that the development zone policy indeed significantly reduces carbon emissions. In addition, we find that cities with higher resource endowments, cities in the eastern and central regions, and other larger cities across the country have better carbon emissions reduction effects. To a certain extent, the research in this paper fills the gap of theoretical research on carbon emissions in terms of the development zone policy, and provides some practical basis for future research in the field of carbon emissions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yanchao Feng
- Business School, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Yue Gao
- Business School, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Yuehua Zhu
- Business School, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
| | - Shilei Hu
- School of Economics and Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Weihai, China
- *Correspondence: Shilei Hu
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Yang X, Wang Y, Chen D, Tan X, Tian X, Shi L. Does the "Blue Sky Defense War Policy" Paint the Sky Blue?-A Case Study of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region, China. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021; 18:ijerph182312397. [PMID: 34886123 PMCID: PMC8657255 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182312397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Revised: 11/22/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Improving air quality is an urgent task for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region in China. In 2018, utilizing 365 days' daily concentration data of six air pollutants (including PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, CO and O3) at 947 air quality grid monitoring points of 13 cities in the BTH region and controlling the meteorological factors, this paper takes the implementation of the Blue Sky Defense War (BSDW) policy as a quasi-natural experiment to examine the emission reduction effect of the policy in the BTH region by applying the difference-in-difference method. Results show that the policy leads to the significant reduction of the daily average concentration of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, O3 by -1.951 μg/m3, -3.872 μg/m3, -1.902 μg/m3, -7.882 μg/m3 and CO by -0.014 mg/m3, respectively. The results of the robustness test support the aforementioned conclusions. However, this paper finds that the concentration of NO2 increases significantly (1.865 μg/m3). In winter heating seasons, the concentration of SO2, CO and O3 decrease but PM2.5, PM10 and NO2 increase significantly. Besides, resource intensive cities, non-key environmental protection cities and cities in the north of the region have great potential for air pollutant emission reduction. Finally, policy suggestions are recommended; these include setting specific goals at the city level, incorporating more cities into the list of key environmental protection cities, refining the concrete indicators of domestic solid fuel, and encouraging and enforcing clean heating diffusion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuan Yang
- School of Environment and Natural Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China; (X.Y.); (Y.W.); (D.C.); (X.T.)
| | - Yue Wang
- School of Environment and Natural Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China; (X.Y.); (Y.W.); (D.C.); (X.T.)
| | - Di Chen
- School of Environment and Natural Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China; (X.Y.); (Y.W.); (D.C.); (X.T.)
| | - Xue Tan
- Energy Strategy and Planning Research Department, State Grid Energy Research Institute Co., Ltd., Beijing 102209, China;
| | - Xue Tian
- School of Environment and Natural Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China; (X.Y.); (Y.W.); (D.C.); (X.T.)
| | - Lei Shi
- School of Environment and Natural Resources, Renmin University of China, Beijing 100872, China; (X.Y.); (Y.W.); (D.C.); (X.T.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +86-10-82502696
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Zhang H, Huang L, Zhu Y, Si H, He X. Does Low-Carbon City Construction Improve Total Factor Productivity? Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021; 18:ijerph182211974. [PMID: 34831730 PMCID: PMC8622497 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182211974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 11/05/2021] [Accepted: 11/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Low-carbon city construction (LCC) is an important strategy for countries desiring to improve environmental quality, realize cleaner production, and achieve sustainable development. Low-carbon cities have attracted widespread attention for their attempts to coordinate the relationship between environmental protection and economic development. Using the panel data from 2006 to 2017 of prefecture-level cities in China, this study applied the difference-in-differences (DID) method to analyze the effects of LCC on the total factor productivity (TFP) of the cities and its possible transmission mechanism. The results show significantly positive effects on TFP, but the effects on each component of TFP are different. Although the LCC has promoted technical progress and scale efficiency, it has inhibited technical efficiency. The accuracy of the results has been confirmed by several robustness tests. Mechanism analysis showed that the pilot policy of low-carbon cities has promoted technical progress and scale efficiency by technological innovation and the upgrading of industrial structure, but resource mismatches among enterprises have been the main reason for reduced technical efficiency. Regional heterogeneity analysis showed that the effects on TFP in the eastern region have been more significant than in the central and western regions. In the eastern region, they have promoted technical progress, while in the central and western regions, they have promoted technical progress and scale efficiency but hindered technical efficiency. This paper presents our findings for the effects of LCC on economic development and provides insightful policy implications for the improvement of technical efficiency in low-carbon cities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongfeng Zhang
- School of Public Administration and Policy, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan 250014, China; (H.Z.); (H.S.)
| | - Lu Huang
- School of Economics, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan 250014, China;
- Correspondence: (L.H.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Yan Zhu
- School of Public Administration and Policy, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan 250014, China; (H.Z.); (H.S.)
- Correspondence: (L.H.); (Y.Z.)
| | - Hongyun Si
- School of Public Administration and Policy, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan 250014, China; (H.Z.); (H.S.)
| | - Xu He
- School of Economics, Shandong University of Finance and Economics, Jinan 250014, China;
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Wang H, Geng Y, Zhang J, Xia X, Feng Y. Ecological Civilization Demonstration Zone, Air Pollution Reduction, and Political Promotion Tournament in China: Empirical Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021; 18:ijerph182211880. [PMID: 34831639 PMCID: PMC8617732 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182211880] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 11/08/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Using the ecological civilization demonstration zone as a quasi-natural experiment, this study has explored the effect of it on air pollution in China by employing the difference-in-differences model and the spatial difference-in-differences model, and further tested the political promotion tournament in China by employing the binary logit model. The results show that the ecological civilization demonstration zone has basically and effectively reduced air pollution, except for carbon monoxide and ozone. In addition, the spatial spillover effects of the ecological civilization demonstration zone on air pollution are not only basically supported among the treated cities, but also extremely established in the untreated cities neighboring the treated cities. Furthermore, no clear evidence supports the establishment of the political promotion tournament in China, while local cadres tend to cope with the assessment of higher officials passively rather than actively. Overall, this study sheds light on the coordination of economic development and ecological civilization from the perspective of the career concerns of local cadres.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haijie Wang
- Business School, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China; (H.W.); (J.Z.); (X.X.)
| | - Yong Geng
- School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China;
| | - Jingxue Zhang
- Business School, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China; (H.W.); (J.Z.); (X.X.)
| | - Xiqiang Xia
- Business School, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China; (H.W.); (J.Z.); (X.X.)
| | - Yanchao Feng
- Business School, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou 450001, China; (H.W.); (J.Z.); (X.X.)
- Correspondence:
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Ma Q, Zhang Y, Yang K, He L. Have China's Pilot Free Trade Zones Improved Green Total Factor Productivity? Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021; 18:ijerph182111681. [PMID: 34770195 PMCID: PMC8583151 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182111681] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2021] [Revised: 10/26/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Free trade zones (FTZ) are designated areas for promoting trade openness and investment facilitation. In China, FTZs are also regarded as "green areas" in which planning actions and institutional innovations are implemented, and there is a commitment to promoting urban green and healthy development. Given that green total factor productivity (GTFP) is an important measure of a city's health and green performance, this study exploits the difference-in-differences method to explore the impact of pilot FTZs on urban GTFP in 280 cities in China for the period between 2005 and 2017. The results show that the green areas positively contributed to the growth of GTFP. Moreover, the outcome holds with robustness tests. Statistically, the positive effect emerged in cities during the first three years after introducing the initiative, with the effect disappearing afterward. It also had a strong positive impact in the central and western regions and in large and medium-sized cities, while the influence remained insignificant in the remaining areas in China. Furthermore, the paper also reveals that the promotion of foreign direct investment and industrial structure upgrading are the primary channels through which the positive relationship between pilot FTZs and GTFP is established.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingshan Ma
- School of Economics, Xiamen University, No. 422 Siming South Road, Xiamen 361005, China;
| | - Yuanmeng Zhang
- Economics School, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, No. 182 Nanhu Avenue, Wuhan 430073, China;
| | - Kexin Yang
- Economics and Management School, Wuhan University, No. 299 Bayi Road, Wuhan 430072, China;
| | - Lingyun He
- Economics School, Zhongnan University of Economics and Law, No. 182 Nanhu Avenue, Wuhan 430073, China;
- Correspondence:
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Yan J, Zhao J, Yang X, Su X, Wang H, Ran Q, Shen J. Does Low-Carbon City Pilot Policy Alleviate Urban Haze Pollution? Empirical Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2021; 18:ijerph182111287. [PMID: 34769802 PMCID: PMC8583181 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph182111287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Revised: 10/17/2021] [Accepted: 10/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
As a comprehensive environmental regulation, the low-carbon city pilot policy (LCCP) may have an impact on haze pollution. The evaluation of the effectiveness of LCCP on haze pollution is greatly significant for air pollution prevention and control. Taking LCCP as the starting point, in this study we constructed DID, PSM-DID, and intermediary effect models to empirically test the impact and mechanism of LCCP on haze pollution, based on the panel data of 271 cities in China from 2005 to 2018. The findings show that (1) LCCP has significantly reduced the urban haze pollution, and the average annual concentration of PM2.5 in pilot cities decreased by 14.29%. (2) LCCP can inhibit haze pollution by promoting technological innovation, upgrading the industrial structure, and reducing energy consumption. Among these impacts, the effect of technological innovation is the strongest, followed by industrial structure, and energy consumption. (3) LCCP has significantly curbed the haze pollution of non-resource dependent cities, Eastern cities, and large cities, but exerted little impact on resource-dependent cities, Central and Western regions, and small and medium-sized cities. (4) LCCP has a spatial spillover effect. It can inhibit the haze pollution of adjacent cities through demonstration and warning effects. This study enriches the relevant research on LCCP and provides empirical support and policy enlightenment for pollution reduction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jinling Yan
- College of Economics and Management, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830047, China; (J.Y.); (X.Y.); (X.S.); (H.W.)
- Department of Science, Xinjiang Institute of Technology, Aksu 843100, China
| | - Junfeng Zhao
- College of Economics and Management, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830047, China; (J.Y.); (X.Y.); (X.S.); (H.W.)
- Institute of Higher Education, Chongqing Technology and Business University, Chongqing 400067, China
- Correspondence: (J.Z.); (J.S.)
| | - Xiaodong Yang
- College of Economics and Management, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830047, China; (J.Y.); (X.Y.); (X.S.); (H.W.)
| | - Xufeng Su
- College of Economics and Management, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830047, China; (J.Y.); (X.Y.); (X.S.); (H.W.)
| | - Hailing Wang
- College of Economics and Management, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830047, China; (J.Y.); (X.Y.); (X.S.); (H.W.)
| | - Qiying Ran
- Department of Business and Economics, Shanghai Business School, Shanghai 200235, China;
- Center for Innovation Management Research of Xinjiang, Urumqi 830047, China
| | - Jianliang Shen
- Center for Arid Region Rural Development Research, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830047, China
- Correspondence: (J.Z.); (J.S.)
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Xin B, Qu Y. Effects of Smart City Policies on Green Total Factor Productivity: Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China. Int J Environ Res Public Health 2019; 16:E2396. [PMID: 31284528 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph16132396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2019] [Revised: 06/27/2019] [Accepted: 06/30/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
When cities develop rapidly, there are negative effects such as population expansion, traffic congestion, resource shortages, and pollution. It has become essential to explore new types of urban development patterns, and thus, the concept of the “smart city” has emerged. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the links between smart city policies and urban green total factor productivity (GTFP) in the context of China. Based on panel data of 200 cities in China from 2007–2016 and treating smart city policy as a quasi-natural experiment, the paper uses a difference-in-differences propensity score matching (PSM-DID) approach to prevent selection bias. The results show: (a) Smart city policies can significantly increase urban GTFP by 16% to 18%; (b) the larger the city, the stronger and more significant this promotion.
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Abstract
Following the shooting of Mark Duggan by police on 4 August 2011, there were riots in many large cities in the UK. As the rioting was widely perceived to be perpetrated by the urban poor, links were quickly made with Britain's welfare policies. In this paper, we examine whether the riots, and the subsequent media coverage, influenced attitudes toward welfare recipients. Using the British Social Attitudes survey, we use multivariate difference-in-differences regression models to compare attitudes toward welfare recipients among those interviewed before (pre-intervention: i.e. prior to 6 August) and after (post-intervention: 10 August-10 September) the riots occurred (N = 3,311). We use variation in exposure to the media coverage to test theories of media persuasion in the context of attitudes toward welfare recipients. Before the riots, there were no significant differences between newspaper readers and non-readers in their attitudes towards welfare recipients. However, after the riots, attitudes diverged. Newspaper readers became more likely than non-readers to believe that those on welfare did not really deserve help, that the unemployed could find a job if they wanted to and that those on the dole were being dishonest in claiming benefits. Although the divergence was clearest between right-leaning newspaper and non-newspaper readers, we do not a find statistically significant difference between right- and left-leaning newspapers. These results suggest that media coverage of the riots influenced attitudes towards welfare recipients; specifically, newspaper coverage of the riots increased the likelihood that readers of the print media expressed negative attitudes towards welfare recipients when compared with the rest of the population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aaron Reeves
- International Inequalities Institute, London School of Economics and Political Science
| | - Robert de Vries
- School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research, University of Kent
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Frey BS, Savage DA, Torgler B. Interaction of natural survival instincts and internalized social norms exploring the Titanic and Lusitania disasters. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2010; 107:4862-5. [PMID: 20194743 PMCID: PMC2841937 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0911303107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
To understand human behavior, it is important to know under what conditions people deviate from selfish rationality. This study explores the interaction of natural survival instincts and internalized social norms using data on the sinking of the Titanic and the Lusitania. We show that time pressure appears to be crucial when explaining behavior under extreme conditions of life and death. Even though the two vessels and the composition of their passengers were quite similar, the behavior of the individuals on board was dramatically different. On the Lusitania, selfish behavior dominated (which corresponds to the classical homo economicus); on the Titanic, social norms and social status (class) dominated, which contradicts standard economics. This difference could be attributed to the fact that the Lusitania sank in 18 min, creating a situation in which the short-run flight impulse dominated behavior. On the slowly sinking Titanic (2 h, 40 min), there was time for socially determined behavioral patterns to reemerge. Maritime disasters are traditionally not analyzed in a comparative manner with advanced statistical (econometric) techniques using individual data of the passengers and crew. Knowing human behavior under extreme conditions provides insight into how widely human behavior can vary, depending on differing external conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bruno S. Frey
- Institute for Empirical Research in Economics, University of Zurich, CH-8006 Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts, CH-4052 Basel, Switzerland; and
| | - David A. Savage
- School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia
| | - Benno Torgler
- Center for Research in Economics, Management and the Arts, CH-4052 Basel, Switzerland; and
- School of Economics and Finance, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia
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