The Costs of “Blue Sky”: Environmental Regulation and Employee Income in China

Abstract Strict environmental regulations may change the behavioral decisions of firms. Based on the exogenous impact of the Chinese Central Government’s inclusion of environmental performance in the assessment targets of municipal officials in 2007, this study uses the difference-in-difference method to explore the impact of environmental regulations on employee income. We find that (1) environmental regulations will significantly reduce the average wage level of employees in polluting industries and have no significant impact on nonpolluting industries. (2) This effect is more pronounced in eastern China, where environmental regulations are more stringent, and in areas where political promotion incentives are stronger. (3) Mechanistic analysis finds that environmental regulations will affect employee income by increasing costs and constraining financing. (4) More importantly, we find that the decline in the average wage level of firms is mainly due to the decline in the average wage level of ordinary employees, and the average wage level of management has not decreased significantly, which means that environmental regulations have expanded social income inequality. Our findings contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the effectiveness of the implementation of environmental regulatory policies and economic cost issues.

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Threshold Effect in the Relationship between Environmental Regulations and Haze Pollution: Empirical Evidence from PSTR Estimation

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182312423 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (23) ◽

pp. 12423

Author(s):

Yonglian Chang ◽

Yingjun Huang ◽

Manman Li ◽

Zhengmin Duan

Keyword(s):

Environmental Governance ◽

Environmental Regulations ◽

Regional Distribution ◽

Electricity Consumption ◽

Threshold Effect ◽

Smooth Transition ◽

Threshold Effects ◽

Regulatory Policies ◽

Haze Pollution ◽

The Impact

The impact of environmental regulations (ER) on haze pollution control has been continuously debated in the field of sustainable development. This paper explores the direct and indirect threshold effects of ER on haze pollution, and five underlying mechanisms—technological innovation (TI), industrial structure (IS), foreign direct investment (FDI), urbanization (UR), and electricity consumption (EC)—are adopted to investigate the indirect threshold effects. Panel data, over the period 2008–2018, of 284 Chinese cities were used and the threshold effects were predicted endogenously based on the panel smooth transition regression (PSTR) model. The results showed the following: (1) For the direct threshold effect, there exists a U-shaped relationship between ER and haze pollution. ER significantly reduced haze pollution when ER < 38.86 due to “cost effects”. However, ER increased haze pollution after the threshold owing to the “green paradox”, which was not significant. (2) For the indirect threshold effect, when TI = 0.37, IS = 39.61, FDI = 7.25, and UR = 42.86, the relationships between ER and haze pollution changed. The changes and corresponding reasons for the indirect threshold effects are discussed in detail. (3) After a comprehensive analysis, the threshold effects have obvious regional distribution characteristics and internal connections. Finally, based on the results, it is essential for governments to enact appropriate environmental regulatory policies and enhance inter-regional synergies in environmental governance.

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Drivers and Policy Choices of Industrial Total-Factor Coal Productivity: Evidence From Eastern China

Frontiers in Energy Research ◽

10.3389/fenrg.2020.627125 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Di Wang ◽

Yueying Zhao ◽

Zhiyuan Zhang ◽

Xiaodi Yang ◽

Xinchen Wen

Keyword(s):

Economic Development ◽

Energy Consumption ◽

Eastern China ◽

Energy Utilization ◽

Eastern Region ◽

Local Conditions ◽

Frontier Analysis ◽

Regulatory Policies ◽

The Impact ◽

D Investment

Identifying the critical factors of industrial total-factor coal productivity (TCP) and its promotion paths will help achieve the goals of regional energy conservation and pollution reduction. Based on the perspective of total-factor productivity, this paper integrates the methods of stochastic frontier analysis (SFA), Kaya identity, and STIRPAT model to systematically diagnose the temporal and spatial characteristics and the heterogeneous sources of the industrial TCP in 11 provinces of eastern China, and it proposes some differentiated regulatory policies for different provinces. The results show that the TCP is increasing year by year and tends to converge, which indicates that increasing TCP is more and more challenging. Further research shows that there are significant spatial differences in the impact of the economic development level (EDL), industrial economic structure (IES), energy consumption intensity (ECI), and energy consumption structure (ECS) on industrial TCP. As the original driving factors of technological progress, the impact of R&D investment intensity (RII) and R&D investment levels (RIL) on industrial TCP is relatively consistent in different regions. The former has a negative congestion effect on TCP due to the imbalance of R&D investment structure, while the latter has a positive effect on TCP. Therefore, the eastern region should increase R&D expenditure and optimize R&D expenditure structure as a general way to improve TCP in each region and adopt differentiated regulatory policies in economic development and energy utilization according to local conditions.

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Comparative Analysis of Minimum Wage in Five Provinces in Northwest China

International Journal of Economics and Finance ◽

10.5539/ijef.v12n1p1 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 1

Author(s):

Cai Yujie ◽

Li Xiuyu ◽

Tao Yuhong

Keyword(s):

Comparative Analysis ◽

Minimum Wage ◽

Low Income ◽

Development Process ◽

Northwest China ◽

Average Wage ◽

Wage Level ◽

Wage System ◽

Important Means ◽

The Difference

The minimum wage system is an important means to guarantee the daily life of low-income workers. Through the comparative analysis of the minimum wage system, the minimum wage level and the proportion of the minimum wage standard in the local per capital GDP, average wage and per capital consumption expenditure in five Chinese northwest provinces, it is found that the development process of the minimum wage system in the five northwest provinces is similar, the overall minimum wage level difference is small, but the difference in the province is gradually increasing and the guarantee level for low-income workers needs to be improved.

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The Impact of Higher Education Expansion Policy on the Wage of College Graduates in China

International Journal of Economics and Finance ◽

10.5539/ijef.v11n5p68 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (5) ◽

pp. 68 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Xinxin Ma

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

College Graduates ◽

Policy Impact ◽

Wage Level ◽

Higher Education Expansion ◽

Education Expansion ◽

Negative Effect ◽

The Difference ◽

The Impact ◽

Expansion Policy

Using a longitudinal survey data conducted from 1997 to 2011, this study employs an empirical study to provide evidence about the impact of the higher education expansion policy on the wage levels of college graduates in China. Major conclusions emerge. First, in general, the higher education expansion policy does not affect the wage level of young college graduates. Second, the difference of policy impact on wage by various wage percentiles is small. Third, the policy decreases the wage level of new college graduates in a short term and the negative effect disappears in a long term. Fourth, to consider the group heterogeneities of policy impacts, it is shown that both the differences between the Eastern, Central and Western Region groups and the gender gaps are small, whereas the policy impact differ by the urban and rural groups.

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Research on the Impact of Environmental Regulations on Industrial Green Total Factor Productivity: Perspectives on the Changes in the Allocation Ratio of Factors among Different Industries

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su132312947 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (23) ◽

pp. 12947

Author(s):

Jiaqi Yuan ◽

Deyuan Zhang

Keyword(s):

Human Capital ◽

Total Factor Productivity ◽

Environmental Regulations ◽

Production Factor ◽

Regulatory Effect ◽

Factor Productivity ◽

Regulatory Policies ◽

Input And Output ◽

Allocation Ratio ◽

The Impact

This paper constructs a two-sector manufacturer model of endogenous technological progress. We analyze the impact of environmental regulations on the factor input and output of different industries. Then, we reveal the intermediary role of inter-industry factor allocation in the impact of environmental regulations on industrial green total factor productivity (GTFP). Finally, the paper uses panel data from 30 provinces in China’s industry from 2000 to 2017 to conduct empirical tests. We can draw the following conclusions: (1) The relative magnitude of the output compensation of the production department and the innovation compensation of the R&D department could change the impact of environmental regulations on the input and output of inter-industry factors, and the comprehensive effects of both input and output will affect the level of GTFP. (2) The curve of the direct impact of environmental regulations on GTFP is in an inverted “U” shape. However, the production factor allocation ratio can “reverse” the inhibitory effect of high-intensity regulations on GTFP. (3) The capital factor has a greater impact on the regulatory effect, but the labor factor has a more lasting impact on the regulatory effect. High-strength environmental regulations can enhance manufacturers’ preference for human capital. Therefore, formulating environmental regulatory policies oriented to improve the ratio of factor allocation, mixing different types of regulatory policies, and increasing investment in human capital are all conducive to accelerating the transformation and upgrading of China’s industrial structure and achieving high-quality development of the industrial economy.

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Can a Win–Win Situation of Economy and Environment Be Achieved in Cities by the Government’s Environmental Regulations?

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su13115829 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (11) ◽

pp. 5829

Author(s):

Xinfei Li ◽

Baodong Cheng ◽

Qiling Hong ◽

Chang Xu

Keyword(s):

Environmental Regulation ◽

Total Factor Productivity ◽

Environmental Quality ◽

Negative Impact ◽

Environmental Regulations ◽

Removal Rate ◽

Utilization Rate ◽

Factor Productivity ◽

Regulatory Policies ◽

The Impact

Based on the panel data of 216 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2016, this study selected five emission-reduction indicators (industrial SO2 removal rate, soot removal rate, comprehensive utilization rate of industrial solid waste, domestic sewage treatment rate, and harmless treatment of domestic waste rate) to quantify the intensity of urban environmental regulations. Based on the intensity of environmental regulations, the authors further studied the impact of environmental regulations on economic quality (green total factor productivity) and environmental quality (PM2.5). The test results showed that the impact of environmental regulation on PM2.5 is a U-type change that first declines and then rises, while the impact of the implementation of environmental regulation on green total factor productivity is an inverted U-shaped change, which first increases and then decreases. On the one hand, appropriate environmental regulations are conducive to improving environmental quality and improving urban green total factor productivity. On the other hand, excessive environmental regulations have not only failed to improve environmental quality, but also have a negative impact on the improvement of economic quality. In addition, there are regional differences in the impact of environmental regulations, so it is necessary to formulate appropriate and local environmental regulatory policies.

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Impact of changes in multi-pillar pension systems in CEE countries on individual pension wealth

Journal of Pension Economics and Finance ◽

10.1017/s1474747216000238 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 17 (1) ◽

pp. 110-120 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

AGNIESZKA CHŁOŃ-DOMIŃCZAK

Keyword(s):

Pension System ◽

Eastern European ◽

Wage Level ◽

Pension Systems ◽

Permanent Loss ◽

The Difference ◽

Eastern European Countries ◽

Pension Contribution ◽

The Impact ◽

Pension Wealth

AbstractThe paper shows the impact of changes in multi-pillar pension systems in six Central and Eastern European countries for individual pension wealth. It demonstrates that the post-crisis changes in pension system reduced pension wealth of workers in Poland and increased in Lithuania and Slovakia. The change did not have significant impact on pension wealth in Estonia and Romania. The magnitude of this effect is highest in those countries where the reduction of the fully-funded pension contribution was permanent. Loss or gain in pension wealth varies with age of participants – it is higher for younger people, who will accumulate their pension wealth to a larger extent after the change. The level of the change in pension wealth depends also on the wage level – higher earners lose more relative to the average wage level. The difference in pension wealth depends also on the difference between rates of return in fully funded and pay-as-you-go (PAYG) components of the pension system. The net outcome of post-crisis pension system modifications depends both on the magnitude of fully-funded contribution reduction, but also on the design of PAYG component and the way individual pension rights are accrued. These results indicate the rise in implicit liability of pension system in Slovakia to be higher than the reduction of the explicit liability caused by the pension system change and the lower rise of implicit liability in Poland and Latvia.

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The impact of corporate environmental reporting on customer-related performance and market value

Management Decision ◽

10.1108/md-03-2017-0272 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 56 (7) ◽

pp. 1630-1659 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Ikram Radhouane ◽

Mehdi Nekhili ◽

Haithem Nagati ◽

Gilles Paché

Keyword(s):

Environmental Performance ◽

Information Disclosure ◽

Critical Role ◽

Generalized Method Of Moments ◽

Market Value ◽

Environmental Reporting ◽

Content Type ◽

The Difference ◽

Corporate Environmental Reporting ◽

The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the potential benefits for firms that report more on environmental activities, with regard to two important categories of stakeholders: shareholders and customers. Design/methodology/approach To avoid the endogeneity problem, the authors apply the system generalized method of moments approach by estimating the relationship between environmental reporting and firm performance with regard both to levels and first differences simultaneously. Findings Based on the 120 largest publicly traded companies in France from 2007 to 2011, results suggest that shareholders interpret and perceive firms’ environmental information disclosure differently than consumers. However, reporting on environmental duties is perceived favorably by both customers and shareholders for firms with better environmental performance. In the same way, an increase in the level of environmental reporting is valuable in terms of customer-related performance (i.e. sales growth and profit margin) and in terms of market value (i.e. Tobin’s q) for firms operating in customer proximity industries. In a supplementary analysis, the authors found that, for reporting on climate change (a component of the combined environmental reporting index), positive customer and shareholder perceptions are acquired in particular through superior environmental performance and proximity to the final customer. Research limitations/implications When reporting on their environmental duties, environmental performance and proximity to the final customers play a critical role for firms in obtaining the necessary support of key stakeholders. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to explore the difference between shareholders’ and customers’ perception of environmental reporting according to firms’ environmental performance and to their proximity to the final customer.

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Variation in Dipole Blocking Associated with Arctic Warming in Winter: Potential Contributions to Cold and Extremely Cold Events over Eurasia

Atmosphere ◽

10.3390/atmos10050249 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 249 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Chun Liu ◽

Yuefeng Li ◽

Wei Song

Keyword(s):

Eastern China ◽

Nonlinear Effects ◽

The Arctic ◽

Arctic Warming ◽

Zonal Flows ◽

Low Latitudes ◽

Cold Events ◽

Barotropic Mode ◽

The Difference ◽

The Impact

In this study, the barotropic mode of thermal forcing responsible for the difference in temperature between the Arctic and midlatitude regions was simplified by the nonlinear Schrӧdinger equation with disturbance terms using multiscale perturbation methods. The impact of Arctic warming on dipole blocking, which results in temperature anomalies over the midlatitudes of Eurasia, was studied using the direct perturbation theory for solitons. The results showed: (1) if only nonlinear effects exist between waves and zonal flows, a dipole blocking structure can present in the westerly air flows; (2) the temperature gradient between midlatitude warming and Arctic cooling inhibits the development of dipole blocking structures; and (3) Arctic warming is theoretically more conducive to intensifying the strength of dipole blocking and meridional activities over Eurasia and is more likely to cause the southward invasion of cold air from the Arctic, thereby inducing regionally cold and even extremely cold events in the mid- and low latitudes of Eurasia, including eastern China.

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Evaluation of the impact of public investment programs on social and economic performance of territories

Voprosy Ekonomiki ◽

10.32609/0042-8736-2019-1-109-123 ◽

2019 ◽

pp. 109-123

Author(s):

I. E. Limonov ◽

M. V. Nesena

Keyword(s):

Bayesian Modeling ◽

Positive Impact ◽

Public Investment ◽

Difference In Differences ◽

The Public ◽

Export Activity ◽

Regional Investment ◽

The Difference ◽

The Impact ◽

Development Institution

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of public investment programs on the socio-economic development of territories. As a case, the federal target programs for the development of regions and investment programs of the financial development institution — Vnesheconombank, designed to solve the problems of regional development are considered. The impact of the public interventions were evaluated by the “difference in differences” method using Bayesian modeling. The results of the evaluation suggest the positive impact of federal target programs on the total factor productivity of regions and on innovation; and that regional investment programs of Vnesheconombank are improving the export activity. All of the investments considered are likely to have contributed to the reduction of unemployment, but their implementation has been accompanied by an increase in social inequality.

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