TY - JOUR
T1 - Air quality in Urban China
AU - He, Canfei
AU - Zhang, Teng
AU - Rui, Wang
N1 - Funding Information:
1Respectively, College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China and Peking University-Lincoln Institute Center for Urban Development and Land Policy (hecanfei@urban.pku.edu. cn); School of Urban Planning and Design, Peking University, Beijing, 100871 China; and Department of Urban Planning, School of Public Affairs, University of California at Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA 90095. The authors acknowledge funding from the Natural Science Foundation of China (41271130, 40830747, 41071075).
PY - 2012/11/1
Y1 - 2012/11/1
N2 - This study develops a framework for measuring the capability, pressure, and resistance to enforce environmental regulations and then applies this three-dimensional enforcement framework to air quality enforcement in urban China. Based on daily Air Pollution Index data published by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection during 2001-2011, the paper reports an overall improvement in urban air quality, but significant inter-city variations. Statistical results indicate that low capability and strong resistance to the enforcement of stringent environmental regulations have contributed to environmental degradation in urban China, and social pressure has not significantly helped clean the urban sky. Economic development and structural transformation have tended to reduce the environmental bargaining power of regulated actors in local economies. The findings imply that supportive institutional arrangements together with necessary financial and human resources would help improve air quality.
AB - This study develops a framework for measuring the capability, pressure, and resistance to enforce environmental regulations and then applies this three-dimensional enforcement framework to air quality enforcement in urban China. Based on daily Air Pollution Index data published by China's Ministry of Environmental Protection during 2001-2011, the paper reports an overall improvement in urban air quality, but significant inter-city variations. Statistical results indicate that low capability and strong resistance to the enforcement of stringent environmental regulations have contributed to environmental degradation in urban China, and social pressure has not significantly helped clean the urban sky. Economic development and structural transformation have tended to reduce the environmental bargaining power of regulated actors in local economies. The findings imply that supportive institutional arrangements together with necessary financial and human resources would help improve air quality.
KW - Air pollution index
KW - Enforcement
KW - Environmental Kuznets curve
KW - Environmental regulation
KW - Panel data regression
KW - Urban air quality
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84878147646&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2747/1539-7216.53.6.750
DO - 10.2747/1539-7216.53.6.750
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84878147646
SN - 1538-7216
VL - 53
SP - 750
EP - 771
JO - Eurasian Geography and Economics
JF - Eurasian Geography and Economics
IS - 6
ER -
