lynx   »   [go: up one dir, main page]
IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/ecosys/v46y2022i3s0939362522000498.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The effects of an environmental accountability system on local environmental governance and firms’ emissions

Author

Listed:
  • Yu, Hongwei
  • Xu, Jiahui
  • Shen, Fang
  • Fang, Debin
  • Shi, Daqian
Abstract
The Chinese central government introduced the environmental accountability system (EAS) policy in 2006 to encourage local governments to execute environmental policies appropriately. However, the effects of this EAS policy have not been investigated at the firm level. In this study, we first measured the environmental governance intensity of local governments by calculating the environment word portion (EWP) of the annual governments’ work reports and found that local governments increased their efforts after the EAS policy implementation. We then constructed a continuous difference-in-difference (DID) strategy to estimate the effect of the EAS on firms’ emission and found that firms significantly reduced their sulphur dioxide (SO2) emission under the regulation intensity of local governments after the EAS policy. The reductions are mainly because of the private, non-export, labour- and capital-intensive firms. The EAS policy may encourage firms to reduce coal usage, design more products, decrease capacity investment and even withdraw from the market, thus reducing pollutant emission. Finally, we tested firms’ response in various polluting sectors and found that the EAS policy may cause local governments to fail in distinguishing low pollution sectors from high pollution sectors.

Suggested Citation

  • Yu, Hongwei & Xu, Jiahui & Shen, Fang & Fang, Debin & Shi, Daqian, 2022. "The effects of an environmental accountability system on local environmental governance and firms’ emissions," Economic Systems, Elsevier, vol. 46(3).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:ecosys:v:46:y:2022:i:3:s0939362522000498
    DOI: 10.1016/j.ecosys.2022.100987
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0939362522000498
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.ecosys.2022.100987?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rubashkina, Yana & Galeotti, Marzio & Verdolini, Elena, 2015. "Environmental regulation and competitiveness: Empirical evidence on the Porter Hypothesis from European manufacturing sectors," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 288-300.
    2. Andersen, Thomas Barnebeck & Barslund, Mikkel & Hansen, Casper Worm & Harr, Thomas & Jensen, Peter Sandholt, 2014. "How much did China's WTO accession increase economic growth in resource-rich countries?," China Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 16-26.
    3. Majumder, Monoj Kumar & Raghavan, Mala & Vespignani, Joaquin, 2020. "Oil curse, economic growth and trade openness," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    4. Cao, Lihong & Du, Yan & Hansen, Jens Ørding, 2017. "Foreign institutional investors and dividend policy: Evidence from China," International Business Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(5), pages 816-827.
    5. Hua Wang & Wenhua Di, 2002. "The determinants of Government environmental performance - an empirical analysis of Chinese townships," Policy Research Working Paper Series 2937, The World Bank.
    6. Mathilde Maurel & Thomas Pernet, 2021. "New evidence on the soft budget constraint: Chinese environmental policy effectiveness in SOE-dominated cities," Public Choice, Springer, vol. 187(1), pages 111-142, April.
    7. Mathilde Maurel & Thomas Pernet, 2021. "New evidence on the soft budget constraint: Chinese environmental policy effectiveness in SOE-dominated cities," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) hal-02919936, HAL.
    8. Mathilde Maurel & Thomas Pernet, 2021. "New evidence on the soft budget constraint: Chinese environmental policy effectiveness in SOE-dominated cities," Post-Print hal-02919936, HAL.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Jin, Peizhen & Wang, Siyu & Yin, Desheng & Zhang, Hang, 2023. "Environmental institutional supply that shapes a green economy: Evidence from Chinese cities," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    2. Bo Xiao & Lanyu Ning & Zixiang Lin & Shiyi Wang & Hua Zang, 2022. "The Impact of Air Pollution on the Protection of World Cultural Heritage in China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(16), pages 1-14, August.
    3. ABDULHUSSEIN Azher Subhi & ABBAS Ali Abdulhassan, 2025. "Environmental Governance as a Mediating and Moderating Variable Between Environmental Auditing and Sustainable Performance," Foundations of Management, Sciendo, vol. 17(1), pages 7-24.
    4. Mengyao Liu & Hongli Jiang, 2022. "Can the Energy-Consumption Permit Trading Scheme Curb SO 2 Emissions? Evidence from a Quasi-Natural Experiment in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-20, December.
    5. Wang, Zhen & Chu, Erming, 2024. "The path toward urban carbon neutrality: How does the low-carbon city pilot policy stimulate low-carbon technology?," Economic Analysis and Policy, Elsevier, vol. 82(C), pages 954-975.
    6. Rong Wu & Shuang Ling, 2025. "The effect of the accountability system in promoting environmental conflict governance: an evolutionary game analysis," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(3), pages 7727-7756, March.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nie, Cong & Zhang, Chen, 2025. "Low-carbon production and corporate biodiversity concern: Evidence from Chinese manufacturing firms," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 77(C).
    2. Wang, Manyu & Huang, Ying & An, Zidong & Wei, Chu, 2023. "Reforming the world's largest heating system: Quasi-experimental evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 117(C).
    3. Mehrdad Vahabi, 2025. "Introduction: A Special Issue in Honouring Janos Kornai," Palgrave Studies in the History of Economic Thought, in: The Legacy of Janos Kornai, chapter 0, pages 31-48, Palgrave Macmillan.
    4. Djula Borozan, 2023. "Institutions and Environmentally Adjusted Efficiency," Journal of the Knowledge Economy, Springer;Portland International Center for Management of Engineering and Technology (PICMET), vol. 14(4), pages 4489-4510, December.
    5. Honghui Miao & Qingshuang Quan & Ming Yang, 2025. "Study on the Regional Carbon Emissions Reduction Effect of Green Manufacturing—A Policy Experiment Based on the Construction of Green Parks in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(4), pages 1-23, February.
    6. Otrachshenko, Vladimir & Popova, Olga, 2024. "Environment vs. Economic Growth: Do Environmental Preferences Translate Into Support for Green Parties?," IZA Discussion Papers 17475, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Zhangsheng Liu & Liuqingqing Yang & Liqin Fan, 2021. "Induced Effect of Environmental Regulation on Green Innovation: Evidence from the Increasing-Block Pricing Scheme," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(5), pages 1-15, March.
    8. Tong Zhang & Chaofan Chen, 2018. "The Effect of Public Participation on Environmental Governance in China–Based on the Analysis of Pollutants Emissions Employing a Provincial Quantification," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-20, July.
    9. Yufen Zhong & Xingyuan Yao & Weiming Lin, 2025. "The Impact of Environmental Regulation on the Growth of Small and Micro Enterprises: Insights from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-24, February.
    10. Wang, Xiaoteng & Zhou, Bole & Li, Xiaoling, 2025. "Qualified foreign institutional investors and corporate ESG performance: Evidence from China," International Review of Financial Analysis, Elsevier, vol. 101(C).
    11. Ren, Shenggang & Hu, Yucai & Zheng, Jingjing & Wang, Yangjie, 2020. "Emissions trading and firm innovation: Evidence from a natural experiment in China," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 155(C).
    12. Jintao Zhang & Zhen Yang & Li Meng & Lu Han, 2022. "Environmental regulations and enterprises innovation performance: the role of R&D investments and political connections," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(3), pages 4088-4109, March.
    13. Yanli Ji & Jie Xue & Kaiyang Zhong, 2022. "Does Environmental Regulation Promote Industrial Green Technology Progress? Empirical Evidence from China with a Heterogeneity Analysis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(1), pages 1-23, January.
    14. Yang, Xia & Ma, Zhong, 2022. "Institutional investors’ corporate site visits and dividend payouts," International Review of Economics & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 697-716.
    15. Qian Wang & Zhuoya Du & Boyu Wang & Yung‐ho Chiu & Tzu‐Han Chang, 2022. "Environmental regulation and foreign direct investment attractiveness: Evidence from China provinces," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 26(2), pages 899-917, May.
    16. Guorong Chen & Changyan Liu, 2023. "Can Low–Carbon City Development Stimulate Population Growth? Insights from China’s Low–Carbon Pilot Program," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-22, October.
    17. Zhongju Liao & Yuhan Wu, 2025. "Formal institutions, informal institutions, and firms' environmental innovation: An application of the fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis method," Sustainable Development, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 33(1), pages 668-680, February.
    18. Zhang, Yijun & Li, Xiaoping & Song, Yi & Jiang, Feitao, 2021. "Can green industrial policy improve total factor productivity? Firm-level evidence from China," Structural Change and Economic Dynamics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C), pages 51-62.
    19. Wunhong Su & Chun Guo & Xiaobao Song, 2022. "Media coverage, Environment Protection Law and environmental research and development: evidence from the Chinese-listed firms," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 24(5), pages 6953-6983, May.
    20. Yu Zhang & Lijun Hu & Ruilei Liu, 2025. "Environmental Target Constraint and Corporate Pollution Emissions: Evidence from China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-20, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:ecosys:v:46:y:2022:i:3:s0939362522000498. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/osteide.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.
    Лучший частный хостинг