The Relationship Between Environmental Regulation and Urbanization: a panel data analysis of Chinese prefecture-level cities

TL;DR

This paper investigates how China's environmental regulations during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan influenced urbanization rates across prefecture-level cities, highlighting both positive and negative effects on population mobility.

Contribution

It provides a theoretical framework and empirical analysis of the dual effects of environmental regulation on urbanization in Chinese cities.

Findings

Environmental regulation affects urban population mobility through crowding-in and crowding-out effects.

Regulations during the Eleventh Five-Year Plan had significant impacts on urbanization rates.

The study offers insights into policy implications for balancing environmental goals and urban development.

Abstract

Since the Industrial Revolution, the world economy has experienced rapid development, and China's economy has also achieved an unprecedented takeoff in the past. Behind the economic growth, population surge, and continuous improvement of people's living standards lies the enormous consumption of fossil energy and environmental pollution. This kind of pollution has caused irreparable damage to the world. The most concerned environmental issue globally at present is the global warming caused by carbon dioxide emissions. China is in a stage of rapid development, and as the largest developing country, China's development path has a significant impact on global climate change. At the same time, the global community also puts pressure on China to limit carbon dioxide emissions. To address energy shortages and environmental issues, countries around the world have introduced corresponding energy and environmental regulations. Due to different culture and government systems, the effects of energy and environmental regulations in various countries are also different. Therefore, it is still necessary to discuss China's energy and environmental regulations.This paper uses data from prefecture-level cities between 2003 and 2008 to discuss the impact of the "Eleventh Five-Year Plan" environmental regulations on urbanization rates. It first provides a theoretical analysis of the relationship between environmental regulation and urbanization, finding that environmental regulation can influence urban population mobility through both crowding-in and crowding-out effects.