Innovative City Policy and Water Pollution: Evidence from a Quasi-natural Experiment in China

Abstract

This study evaluates the impact of China’s innovative city pilot policy on urban water pollution. Based on panel data of 278 cities in China from 2005 to 2018, we employ the difference-in-differences method and find that the policy can significantly reduce water pollution in pilot cities. The lags exist in the effect of innovative city pilot policy, but the effect remains significant in the long term. Heterogeneity analysis shows that the effect is more pronounced for cities in eastern and central regions of China, and the policy is particularly effective among cities at prefecture level. An examination of the underlying mechanisms shows that promotion in urban technological innovation, human capital accumulation and the advancement of industrial structure associated with the innovative city pilot policy may play a role. Our findings indicate that establishing an innovation-driven development model through policy support and enhancing urban innovation level are beneficial to reducing water pollution and achieving green development. JEL: C33; Q55; R58

The Impact of Digital Infrastructure on Corporate Carbon Emissions: Evidence from the “Broadband China” Pilot

“…In this study, following the approach of Li et al [38], we employ the Event Study Approach to investigate the dynamic effects of the "Broadband China" pilot. In this paper, the previous period of the implementation of "Broadband China" strategy, 2013 (recorded as "-1 period"), is selected as the base period [39]. As shown in Figure 1,the coefficients before the pilot are generally insignificant, before the pilot are generally insignificant, indicating that there is no systematic difference in carbon emissions between the experimental and control regions before the "Broadband China" pilot.…”

“…Therefore, compared to old industrial bases, digital infrastructure has a more pronounced impact on carbon emission reduction in non-old industrial bases. Wang et al [39] utilized the e-commerce pilot policy as a quasi-natural experiment to investigate the impact of digital technology on carbon reduction. The e-commerce pilot policy was found to be conducive to reducing corporate carbon emissions, with particularly significant effects observed in non-old industrial cities and non-resource-based cities.…”