Sustainability

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19 pages, 409 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on the Environmental Effects of China’s Outward Foreign Direct Investment (OFDI): Empirical Evidence Based on the Implementation of the “Belt and Road” Initiative (BRI)

by Yazhen Liu and Rong Wang

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12868; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912868 - 09 Oct 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1691

Abstract

Based on the environmental responsibility of the home country against the background of high-quality development and the “double carbon” goal, with the aid of Difference-in-Differences (DIDs), this study discusses the impact of China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) on the environment of the [...] Read more.

Based on the environmental responsibility of the home country against the background of high-quality development and the “double carbon” goal, with the aid of Difference-in-Differences (DIDs), this study discusses the impact of China’s outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) on the environment of the host country. The sample data of China’s OFDI from 2003 to 2020 is used to analyze its impact on the 162 countries before and after the implementation of the “Belt and Road” Initiative (BRI). The results show that the implementation of the BRI can effectively enhance the positive environmental impact of Chinese OFDI in host countries. Further research shows that with the implementation of the BRI, the environmental effects of Chinese OFDI in developing countries have become more significant. Among developing countries in Asia, the BRI has played a significant and positive role in promoting the environmental outcomes of China’s OFDI. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Growth and the Environment)

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15 pages, 1162 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Examining the Correlation among Economic Development, Foreign Direct Investment, and CO₂ Emissions by Utilizing the VECM Model—Empirical Study in Vietnam

by Trang Mai Tran, Thao Huong Phan, Thao Viet Tran and Anh Tram Thi Le

Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12621; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912621 - 04 Oct 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1566

Abstract

From 1990 to 2019, Vietnam entered a period of economic growth, attracting foreign investment. However, during this period, CO₂ emissions also increased significantly. This paper will examine the short- and long-term relations of Vietnam’s relationship among FDI, economic growth, and CO₂ [...] Read more.

From 1990 to 2019, Vietnam entered a period of economic growth, attracting foreign investment. However, during this period, CO₂ emissions also increased significantly. This paper will examine the short- and long-term relations of Vietnam’s relationship among FDI, economic growth, and CO₂ emissions based on the data on CO₂, GDP, and FDI of Vietnam in 1990–2019. This article uses the VECM model to test the effect among variables. Research results identify an impact and causal correlation among CO₂ emissions and economic growth and foreign direct investment in Vietnam. Research results show a long-term relationship between CO₂ emissions, GDP, and FDI. The authors did not find a short-run relationship between the above variables. Assessing impacts of CO₂ emissions on economic growth and foreign direct investment will help policymakers make reasonable policies to balance the increase in foreign investment capital and economic growth and reduce CO₂ to achieve the commitment in COP26. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Growth and the Environment)

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17 pages, 708 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring the Role of Heterogeneous Environmental Regulations in Industrial Agglomeration: A Fresh Evidence from China

by Yingming Zhu, Nian Wang and Ronghui Xie

Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 10902; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141710902 - 31 Aug 2022

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1292

Abstract

This paper attempts to analyze the effect of different types of environmental regulations on industrial agglomeration in China. By employing the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2015, this study empirically investigates the effect of the beforehand, intermediate, and [...] Read more.

This paper attempts to analyze the effect of different types of environmental regulations on industrial agglomeration in China. By employing the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2005 to 2015, this study empirically investigates the effect of the beforehand, intermediate, and afterward environmental regulations on industrial agglomeration and examines the spatial heterogeneity feature in this relationship. The results show that at the provincial level, the beforehand regulations, acting as an entry barrier for potential firms, negatively affect the level of industrial agglomeration, while the intermediate regulations significantly promote industrial agglomeration. As for the regional level, the mechanisms become more complicated and a spatial heterogeneity feature is found. The beforehand and afterward regulations generate opposite effects on regions with increasing and decreasing concentration of pollution-intensive industries, respectively, while the intermediate regulations have no significant effect on either of the two regions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Growth and the Environment)

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22 pages, 1764 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on the Evaluation and Regional Differences in Carbon Emissions Efficiency of Cultural and Related Manufacturing Industries in China’s Yangtze River Basin

by Xing Zhao and Xin Zhang

Sustainability 2022, 14(17), 10579; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141710579 - 25 Aug 2022

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1182

Abstract

Carbon peak and carbon neutrality are important development goals for China so the issue of carbon emissions from cultural and related manufacturing has received increasing attention. The objective of this paper is to clearly present the current status and historical evolution of the [...] Read more.

Carbon peak and carbon neutrality are important development goals for China so the issue of carbon emissions from cultural and related manufacturing has received increasing attention. The objective of this paper is to clearly present the current status and historical evolution of the carbon emissions and carbon emissions efficiency of cultural and related manufacturing (CEECM) in 17 provinces in the Yangtze River Basin in China from 2012 to 2019. This paper mainly uses two research methods: the super-efficiency DEA analysis method is used to measure the CEECM in the various regions and the Theil index analysis method is used to study the regional differences in the CEECM in these regions. It was found that there were large differences in the carbon emissions of cultural and related manufacturing in the various regions and the energy consumption also varied greatly. In 2019, Guangdong province had the highest amount of carbon emissions from cultural and related manufacturing industries in the Yangtze River Basin, followed by Jiangsu and Fujian. On the whole, the eastern part of the Yangtze River Basin had more emissions than the central and western parts. From 2012 to 2019, the carbon emissions of cultural and related manufacturing industries in the Yangtze River Basin showed an overall downward trend. In 2019, the city with the highest CEECM in the Yangtze River Basin was Shanghai, followed by Fujian and Sichuan. From 2012 to 2019, the average CEECM for the whole Yangtze River basin, the provinces of the main stream of the Yangtze River, and the provinces of the tributaries of the Yangtze River all showed a downward trend. According to the calculation, the average value of the Theil index from 2012 to 2019 was 0.905, which indicated that the regional differences in the CEECM among the provinces in the Yangtze River Basin were large. From 2012 to 2019, the regional differences in the CEECM for the Yangtze River basin as a whole, the provinces of the main stream of the Yangtze River, and the provinces of the tributaries of the Yangtze River all showed an inverted U-shaped development trend. The regional differences in the CEECM in 2013 were the largest and then showed a decreasing trend. After 2015, the fluctuation of the differences was relatively flat. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Growth and the Environment)

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13 pages, 291 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Does Environmental Regulation Promote the Upgrade of the Export Technology Structure: Evidence from China

by Yingzhu Yang, Qunhao Wang, Yang Gao and Lexiang Zhao

Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 10283; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141610283 - 18 Aug 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1380

Abstract

Rapid economic growth is accompanied by the continuous degradation of the environmental quality, low efficiency of natural-resource utilization and increasing health losses. With the growing environmental problems, countries in the world have gradually attached importance to environmental protection and regulation. As an effective [...] Read more.

Rapid economic growth is accompanied by the continuous degradation of the environmental quality, low efficiency of natural-resource utilization and increasing health losses. With the growing environmental problems, countries in the world have gradually attached importance to environmental protection and regulation. As an effective means of environmental protection by the government, environmental regulation’s role in high-quality development cannot be understated. On the basis of a two-way fixed-effects model, the panel data of 276 prefecture-level cities of China during the period 2007–2016 were used to explore the effect of environmental regulation on China’s export technology structure, and the influence mechanism between the two. Moreover, panel quantile regression was used to examine the heterogeneity of the effect of environmental regulation on the export technology structures of Chinese cities with distinct technological levels. The empirical results prove that environmental regulation can boost the upgrade of China’s export technology structure by encouraging innovation. Furthermore, the impact of environmental regulation on China’s export technology structure changes according to the export technical complexity. With the improvement in the export technology structure, the boost effect appears as an inverted U-shaped change. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Growth and the Environment)

15 pages, 533 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Digital Inclusive Finance, Human Capital and Inclusive Green Development—Evidence from China

by Junru Song, Hongcan Zhou, Yanchen Gao and Yongpan Guan

Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 9922; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14169922 - 11 Aug 2022

Cited by 16 | Viewed by 2939

Abstract

To analyze the impact of digital inclusive finance and human capital on inclusive green economic development in China, we build a comprehensive indicator system to measure the level of inclusive green development and use the super-efficiency SBM method to measure the inclusive green [...] Read more.

To analyze the impact of digital inclusive finance and human capital on inclusive green economic development in China, we build a comprehensive indicator system to measure the level of inclusive green development and use the super-efficiency SBM method to measure the inclusive green total factor productivity (IGTFP) in Chinese cities, then the system GMM model is used to empirically test the direct and interactive influences. Inclusive green development in China has maintained a growing trend in recent years, reaching a peak in 2017. The development of digital inclusive finance in terms of breadth, depth and degree of digitization is conducive to promoting inclusive green development. Although human capital does not directly affect inclusive green development, it plays a significantly positive moderating role in the process of digital inclusive finance promoting inclusive green development. In this paper, the impact of digital inclusive financial and human capital and their interactions on inclusive green development is analyzed within a unified framework, which has important practical significance for the orderly promotion of the development of digital inclusive finance, improving residents’ education level and promoting inclusive green development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Growth and the Environment)

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18 pages, 308 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring the Role of Environmental Regulation and Technological Innovation in Financial Performance: Evidence from Chinese Heavy-Polluting Industry

by Yiling Zhu and Tong Zhao

Sustainability 2022, 14(16), 9844; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14169844 - 09 Aug 2022

Cited by 6 | Viewed by 1487

Abstract

Environmental regulation is an important guarantee to realize the balanced development of economy and environment, and is the policy guidance of the government to the resource utilization of companies. Environmental regulation will make companies increase costs, and also promote companies to explore technological [...] Read more.

Environmental regulation is an important guarantee to realize the balanced development of economy and environment, and is the policy guidance of the government to the resource utilization of companies. Environmental regulation will make companies increase costs, and also promote companies to explore technological innovation. How to reverse the negative cost effect of environmental regulation and improve financial performance is a problem that the government and companies need to think about together. Based on the data from 2015 to 2019 of China’s heavy-polluting industry of listed companies, this paper analyzes the impact of environmental regulation on financial performance. The results show that: (1) environmental regulation inhibits firms’ short-term and long-term financial performance. Environmental regulation has formed the negative effect of cost crowding out; (2) environmental regulation positively affects technological innovation. Environmental regulation can stimulate companies to actively explore technological reform to cope with the requirements and restrictions of environmental regulation policies; (3) technological innovation is not significantly negatively correlated with corporate financial performance. Technological innovation input cannot directly lead to the improvement of financial performance in the current period; and (4) technological innovation positively mediates the relationship between environmental regulation and financial performance. That verifies a weak “Porter Hypothesis”. “Innovation compensation effect” exists, and technological innovation can partially offset “cost crowding out effect” and slow down the inhibition relationship of environmental regulation on financial performance, but the innovation effect does not offset the environmental cost. According to the research results, environmental regulation still has a negative effect on the financial performance of listed companies in China’s heavy-polluting industries. The government should formulate strict and stringent environmental regulation policies, guide companies to rationally use resources and protect the environment. Instead of passively responding to policies, companies should actively seek new technologies and alternative sources of energy. Companies try to amplify the compensation effect of technological innovation, reduce the cost crowding out effect of environmental regulation, and improve their value. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Growth and the Environment)

18 pages, 329 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Research on the Efficiency Measurement and Spatial Spillover Effect of China’s Regional E-Commerce Poverty Alleviation from the Perspective of Sustainable Development

by Guoyin Xu, Tong Zhao and Rong Wang

Sustainability 2022, 14(14), 8456; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14148456 - 11 Jul 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1614

Abstract

The development of e-commerce plays a very important role in changing the production and operation mode, optimizing the allocation of market resources, promoting sustainable development, and ultimately achieving the goal of e-commerce poverty alleviation. Therefore, the efficiency of e-commerce poverty alleviation has become [...] Read more.

The development of e-commerce plays a very important role in changing the production and operation mode, optimizing the allocation of market resources, promoting sustainable development, and ultimately achieving the goal of e-commerce poverty alleviation. Therefore, the efficiency of e-commerce poverty alleviation has become a focus of attention for both the government and academia. The authors of this paper selected the panel data of 30 provinces and cities in China from 2010 to 2021, in order to measure the poverty alleviation efficiency of e-commerce in each province and city. We used the Moran’s I index to measure its spatial correlation to verify the existence of its spatial effect; we then used the spatial Durbin model to analyze the spatial spillover effect in the efficiency of e-commerce poverty alleviation. The conclusions are as follows: First, there is a significant positive spatial correlation of the efficiency of e-commerce poverty alleviation among different regions in China. Moran’s I index exceeds 0.5, indicating that there is a significant spatial effect in the efficiency of e-commerce poverty alleviation, and the existence of its spatial effect is unavoidable in the empirical analysis. Secondly, from the perspective of the efficiency of e-commerce poverty alleviation in various regions of the country, the overall e-commerce poverty alleviation efficiency is not high, and there are large differences among regions. The regions in which efficiency is higher include Tianjin, Beijing, and Shanghai. Regionally, the highest are in the east and the lowest are in the west. Secondly, from the decomposition of spatial spillover effects, the direct effects of each influencing factor are all positive. Only the financial development environment is less significant, and the indirect effects indicate that only four indicators have significant spatial spillover effects, of which the most significant is industrial agglomeration. The level of industrial agglomeration is not significantly related to the level of human capital, and there is a negative correlation between it and the efficiency of e-commerce poverty alleviation. The authors studied the poverty alleviation efficiency and spatial spillover effect of China’s regional e-commerce from the perspective of sustainable development, which is beneficial to China’s regional poverty alleviation results, providing practical guidance and decision-making reference for implementing differentiated coping strategies in different regions. The research complements, improves, and expands the research content in this field. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Growth and the Environment)

20 pages, 516 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Environmental Regulations, Green Technology Innovation, and High-Quality Economic Development in China: Application of Mediation and Threshold Effects

by Tao Lin, Lijun Wang and Jingbo Wu

Sustainability 2022, 14(11), 6882; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14116882 - 05 Jun 2022

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 2877

Abstract

In this article, we consider sample data from 30 regions in China from 2004 to 2020. We use the entropy method to measure the high-quality development level, then examine the intermediary and threshold effects to verify the main paths by which green technology [...] Read more.

In this article, we consider sample data from 30 regions in China from 2004 to 2020. We use the entropy method to measure the high-quality development level, then examine the intermediary and threshold effects to verify the main paths by which green technology innovation mediates the relationship between environmental regulation intensity and the quality of economic development. Our conclusions are as follows: (1) There is a “U”-shaped relationship between environmental regulation intensity and high-quality economic development. When the environmental regulation intensity is low, there is a negative (inhibitory) relationship between the two, while there is a positive (promoting) relationship when the intensity is high. Furthermore, a high proportion of secondary industries inhibit high-quality development, perfect infrastructure and information access can promote high-quality development, and excessive population density hinders high-quality development. (2) There also exists a “U”-shaped relationship between environmental regulation intensity and green technology innovation, which forms a co-directional change relationship. Green technology innovation has a significant mediating effect on the impact of environmental regulation intensity on high-quality economic development. (3) The threshold effect test confirms the existence of double thresholds. When the green technology innovation level is not high, environmental regulations inhibit high-quality economic development. However, when green technology innovation reaches a certain level, environmental regulations will promote high-quality economic development. This paper has certain theoretical reference for achieving high-quality development goals; thus, our results are expected to provide theoretical support for China’s high-quality development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Growth and the Environment)

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19 pages, 554 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Decomposition and Decoupling Analysis of Factors Affecting Carbon Emissions in China’s Regional Logistics Industry

by Guoyin Xu, Tong Zhao and Rong Wang

Sustainability 2022, 14(10), 6061; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106061 - 17 May 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 1645

Abstract

This paper selected the data from 2010 to 2020 to measure the carbon emissions of the logistics industry in different regions of China, decomposed the influencing factors of carbon emissions in China’s logistics industry based on the LMDI model, and, finally, conducted a [...] Read more.

This paper selected the data from 2010 to 2020 to measure the carbon emissions of the logistics industry in different regions of China, decomposed the influencing factors of carbon emissions in China’s logistics industry based on the LMDI model, and, finally, conducted a decoupling analysis of carbon emissions and the development of the logistics industry. The conclusions are as follows: (1) China’s carbon emission levels vary greatly from region to region, with the highest distribution pattern in the east and the lowest in the west, while the growth rate in the east is also the highest. (2) The level of economic development has the greatest impact on carbon emissions, and it has the effect of promoting carbon emissions in three regions; logistics development effects have the characteristics of first driving and then restraining emissions in the three major regions. The effect of energy intensity has great volatility. The effect of intensity in the eastern region dropped sharply in 2015, with negative effects after that year. Development of the logistics industry has limited the inhibition of carbon emissions in the central and western regions. Although the effect of the energy structure is negative, it failed the significance test. The effects of the energy structure began to show a downward trend in three regions after 2015. (3) The decoupling analysis showed that only 3 provinces are strongly decoupled, 20 provinces are weakly decoupled, and the regional carbon emissions are quite different. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Growth and the Environment)

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15 pages, 858 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Trade Openness and Environmental Policy Stringency: Quantile Evidence

by Dong-Hyeon Kim and Shu-Chin Lin

Sustainability 2022, 14(6), 3590; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14063590 - 18 Mar 2022

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1910

Abstract

The intensively debated issue of whether trade globalization leads to a race (climb) to the bottom (top) such that environmental policy stringency is loosened (strengthened) is still far from being uncontroversial. This paper provides new empirical evidence from the standpoint of the North [...] Read more.

The intensively debated issue of whether trade globalization leads to a race (climb) to the bottom (top) such that environmental policy stringency is loosened (strengthened) is still far from being uncontroversial. This paper provides new empirical evidence from the standpoint of the North (advanced) countries using both the generalized methods of moment (GMM) and GMM quantile estimators for dynamic panel data models. It first investigates the importance of trade partners and finds, in a sample of OECD countries, that increased trade with the South (developing) countries leads to more stringent environmental regulation whereas heightened trade with the North eases environmental regulation. It then examines whether there exist differences across regimes with different extents of stringency in environmental regulation and finds significant regime-specific effects. Specifically, liberalizing trade with the North weakens environmental regulation stringency in a regime with medium stringency but reinforces it in a regime with high and low stringency. Conversely, expanded trade with the South raises environmental regulation stringency in a regime with medium stringency but deteriorates it in a regime with high and low stringency. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Growth and the Environment)

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17 pages, 460 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Exploring the Impact of “Double Cycle” and Industrial Upgrading on Sustainable High-Quality Economic Development: Application of Spatial and Mediation Models

by Fayuan Wang, Rong Wang and Zhili He

Sustainability 2022, 14(4), 2432; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042432 - 20 Feb 2022

Cited by 21 | Viewed by 2730

Abstract

In the context of the integration into the world economy, the domestic and international cycles of the economy constitute the basic pattern of economic operation. This pattern is closely related to the industrial structure, and obviously it can affect quality of the economic [...] Read more.

In the context of the integration into the world economy, the domestic and international cycles of the economy constitute the basic pattern of economic operation. This pattern is closely related to the industrial structure, and obviously it can affect quality of the economic development. The Chinese government has put forward an international and domestic dual cycle strategy for reinforcing an environmentally sustainable high-quality economic development. Similarly, it seems critically important to explore what impact the “dual cycle strategy” and industrial upgrading will have on the environmentally sustainable high-quality economic development. To do so, this paper adopted a dataset ranging from the year 2004 to 2019 from a regional perspective in China, and an empirical research is carried out based on the spatial Dubin model-mediation effect model to analyze the impact of “dual cycle strategy” and industrial upgrading on environmentally sustainable high-quality economic development. The results of the study show that the rising industrial structure effect has emerged prominently. Both the “dual cycle” and industrial structure upgrading have a positive spillover effect on environmentally sustainable high-quality economic development. Further, the direct effect of domestic circulation is significant, but the indirect effect is not obvious. In addition, we found that the direct and indirect effects of international circulation are both significantly positive; industrial upgrading has a partial mediating effect in the “double cycle”. The study holds promising implications for a policy development. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Growth and the Environment)

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27 pages, 2946 KiB

Open AccessArticle

A Study on the Sustainable Relationship among the Green Finance, Environment Regulation and Green-Total-Factor Productivity in China

by Yanhong Liu, Jia Lei and Yihua Zhang

Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 11926; https://doi.org/10.3390/su132111926 - 28 Oct 2021

Cited by 55 | Viewed by 4809

Abstract

Exploring the mechanism and constraints of Green Finance on high-quality economic development is of great significance to achieve the strategic goal of carbon peak and carbon neutral. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2009 to 2019, this paper [...] Read more.

Exploring the mechanism and constraints of Green Finance on high-quality economic development is of great significance to achieve the strategic goal of carbon peak and carbon neutral. Based on the panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2009 to 2019, this paper uses the epsilon-based measure model and entropy method to measure the total factor rate of green economy and the development level of green finance. It then brings green finance, technological innovation, industrial structure upgrading, environmental supervision and high-quality economic development into a unified research framework for the first time. By constructing a panel two-way fixed effect model, regulatory intermediary effect model and threshold effect model, this paper empirically tests the action mechanism and constraints between green finance and high-quality economic development. The results show that: (1) The spatial evolution of green finance in China presents a gradient decreasing pattern from east to middle to west, coastal to inland, and the spatial evolution presents an obvious southwest-northeast pattern. (2) Green finance does have a significant role in promoting high-quality economic development, in which technological innovation and industrial structure upgrading play a part of the intermediary role. This conclusion is still valid under the robustness test of lagged explanatory variables and after the possible endogenous problems are alleviated by the difference-in-difference model (DID). (3) Environmental regulation plays a non-linear regulatory role in the relationship between green finance and high-quality economic development, and there is a single threshold value. Too high intensity of environmental regulation will weaken green finance, resulting in the innovation compensation effect being more diminutive than the circular cost effect. At this time, the high-quality economic development presents a state of diminishing marginal benefits. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Economic Growth and the Environment)

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