Assessments of Air Pollution Control Effectiveness Based on a Sharp Regression Discontinuity Design —Evidence From China’s Environmental Big Data

Abstract

The Assessment andAppraisal Method for Ecological Construction Targets (the Method) was promulgated in 2016, which provided a concrete instruction for China’s air pollution control and established an explicit standard for reducing air pollutant concentration. This study implements a sharp regression discontinuity (RD) design and makes an assessment on air quality control effectiveness of the Method based on the high-volume big data acquired from 173 cities in China. The results show that the Method has significantly improved air pollution control on the overall air quality index (AQI) and reducing concentrations of PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, and CO across the country in the observation periods. However, no reduction effect was observed for O3. The robustness tests support the conclusion as well. Besides, the heterogeneity analysis illustrates that the policy had a significant short-term treatment effect in East, South, Central, North, Northwest, Southwest, and Northeast China. However, the Method’s effect is found to decline over time either nationwide or regionally according to the persistence analysis. Therefore, this article puts forward several suggestions regarding the formulation of long-term regulations for air pollution control, the transformation of the growth model for sustainable development, and optimization of the incentive system for improved pollution control and prevention.

The impact of increases in log import prices under Russia’s control of log exports on the market price of timber products in China

“…At present, most scholars determine breakpoints from policy regulations or theoretical analysis, and use precise breakpoint regression analysis to discuss their impact on national macroeconomic policies (Jin et al, 2021;Wang et al, 2021;Zhu et al, 2019;Ruan, 2019). Referring to Alarcon and Nuel (2019) and Lee and Lemieux's (2010) studies, the specific model can be expressed as follows:…”

“…At present, most scholars determine breakpoints from policy regulations or theoretical analysis, and use precise breakpoint regression analysis to discuss their impact on national macroeconomic policies (Jin et al, 2021; Wang et al, 2021; Zhu et al, 2019; Ruan, 2019). Referring to Alarcon and Nuel (2019) and Lee and Lemieux's (2010) studies, the specific model can be expressed as follows: represents the explanatory variable, which includes domestic timber market prices, forest industry producers’ ex-factory prices and the retail price index of furniture product, D is a dummy variable, indicating whether Russia controls log export (before the control, ; after the control, ).…”

Can environmental information disclosure reduce air pollution? Evidence from China

“…Especially since 2011, air pollution, represented by haze, has received increasing attention. The most important task to deal with haze pollution and improve air quality is to control PM 2.5 concentration (Wang et al, 2021b;Hopke and Hill, 2021;Jin et al, 2022;Lin et al, 2022;Renard et al, 2022;Che et al, 2023). As an air pollutant with small particles, PM 2.5 can enter the respiratory system from the lungs, thus leading to an increased prevalence of respiratory and neurological diseases (Varotsos, 2013;Bu et al, 2021;Yang et al, 2021;Liu et al, 2022a;Gan et al, 2022;Yuan et al, 2022).…”