The impact of regional environmental governance efficiency on residents’ life satisfaction—an empirical analysis of panel data from 21 cities in Guangdong Province, China (2001–2023)

TL;DR

This study shows that better environmental governance in Guangdong, China, improves residents' life satisfaction and mental health by enhancing living conditions.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel approach linking environmental governance efficiency to mental wellbeing using panel data from 21 cities in Guangdong (2001–2023).

Findings

Environmental governance efficiency significantly increases residents' life satisfaction (p < 0.001).

Improved governance, health insurance, and economic openness boost consumption and wellbeing.

Industrial production and government scale negatively affect life satisfaction, with regional disparities remaining.

Abstract

The study of the mental health of residents in the prosperous southern regions of China, which have experienced long-term rapid growth, is a very meaningful topic. Studies that approach the issue from the perspective of the relationship between environmental governance efficiency and residents’ consumption level are quite rare.

This study explores the nexus of environmental governance efficiency and residents’ life satisfaction in Guangdong Province, China, through a psychological and public administration lens, using panel data from 21 cities (2001–2023). Life satisfaction, a critical indicator of mental health, is proxied by the ratio of consumption expenditure to disposable income, reflecting residents’ economic behavior and wellbeing. Environmental governance efficiency, measured via the super-efficiency SBM model of Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), captures the psychological benefits of effective public administration by improving living conditions through sustainable environmental policies. Two-way fixed effects models, validated by the Hausman test were employed.

We find a significant positive relationship between governance efficiency and life satisfaction (FE1, FE2, and FE4, p < 0.001; FE3, p < 0.01), underscoring the role of high-quality governance in fostering mental wellbeing. Environmental governance efficiency, health insurance coverage, per capita GDP, fiscal self-sufficiency, and economic openness significantly enhance residents’ life satisfaction in Guangdong by increasing consumption expenditure, though industrial production and government scale show negative effects, and regional disparities persist. The fixed-effect model, validated by the Hausman test, confirms these findings, highlighting the importance of high-quality governance and social services in supporting mental wellbeing.

In Guangdong, a region marked by rapid urbanization and economic dynamism, efficient environmental governance mitigates pollution and enhances urban livability, positively impacting residents’ mental health. This study demonstrates that efficient environmental governance in Guangdong Province significantly enhances residents’ life satisfaction by improving living conditions and supporting mental wellbeing, offering a replicable model for sustainable development in rapidly growing economies.

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