Effects of fiscal decentralization on carbon emissions in China

Abstract

Purpose Fiscal fund is the key support of carbon emissions control for local governments. This paper aims to analyze the impact of fiscal decentralization on carbon emissions by spatial Durbin model (SDM), and verify the existence of “free-riding” phenomenon to reveal the behavior of local governments in carbon emissions control. Design/methodology/approach Based on the provincial data of carbon emissions from 2005 to 2016 in China, this paper uses spatial exploratory data analysis technology to analyze the spatial correlation characteristics and constructs SDM to test the impact of fiscal decentralization on carbon emissions. Findings The results show that carbon emissions exhibits significant spatial autocorrelation in China, and the increasing of fiscal decentralization in the region will increase carbon emissions in surrounding areas and on the whole. Then, by comparing the impact of fiscal decentralization on carbon emissions and industrial solid waste, it is found that “free-riding” phenomenon of carbon emissions control exists in China. Practical implications Based on the spatial cluster characteristics of China’s provincial carbon emissions, carbon emissions control regions can be divided into regions and different carbon emission control policies can be formulated for different cluster regions. Carbon emissions indicators should be included in the government performance appraisal policy, and carbon emissions producer survey should be increased in environmental policies to avoid “free-riding” behaviors of local government in carbon emissions control in China. Originality/value This paper contributes to fill this gap and fully considers the spatial spillover characteristics of carbon emissions by introducing spatial exploratory data analysis technology, constructs SDM to test the impact of fiscal decentralization on carbon emissions in the perspective of space econometrics, and tests the existence of “free-riding” phenomenon in carbon emissions control for local governments in China.

Industrial ecological efficiency of cities in the Yellow River Basin in the background of China’s economic transformation: spatial-temporal characteristics and influencing factors

“…The last point of view is that the relationship between decentralization and IEE is non-linear. Under fiscal decentralization, in order to improve political performance, local governments must not only promote local economic development, but also improve the quality of the local ecological environment (Yang et al 2020). Some scholars have found a nonlinear relationship between decentralization and pollution emissions through research (Cheng et al 2019).…”

Double Effects of Environmental Regulation on Carbon Emissions in China: Empirical Research Based on Spatial Econometric Model

“…Learning from Li and Wang and Yang et al, industrial structure is measured by the proportion of the secondary industry in the total industrial output. [74,75] Drawing lessons from Liu and Feng and Zhang, technological innovation level is measured by the ratio of R&D expenditure to GDP for each region [64,70]. According to Gani, Zhang, and Zhang, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is indicated by actual GDP per capita, and population size is indicated by population density of each region [13, 15, 21].…”

A study on the impact of fiscal decentralization on carbon emissions with U-shape and regulatory effect

“…2 Literature review and theoretical analysis 2.1 Research into the effect of fiscal decentralization on CO 2 emissions Although academics have begun investigating the carbon dioxide emissions and the impact of fiscal decentralization ( (Matheus et al, 2019;Yang et al, 2020), there is no consensus regarding the impact of fiscal decentralization on carbon dioxide emissions.…”

“…Nevertheless, it can also result in local governments' (Levinson, 2003). On the other hand, local authorities can bring about economic development while improving environmental quality under fiscal decentralization (Yang et al, 2020). For instance, Hao et al (2020a) found that the impact of fiscal decentralization on CO 2 emissions was negative.…”