Research Center of the Central China for Economic and Social Development, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031, China.
School of Economics and Management, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031, China.
Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2020 Oct;27(29):36147-36159. doi: 10.1007/s11356-020-09663-7. Epub 2020 Jun 18.
To promote county economic prosperity and social development, China enacted a fiscal reform known as "province governing county" (PGC) in the early 2000s. Using the difference-in-differences (DID) method and a massive sample of enterprises from 2003 to 2011, this study investigates the effect of PGC reform on firm environmental performance. The results show that enterprises in reformed counties have significantly decreased their pollution intensity since the fiscal reform. Our research reveals that the environmental effects of fiscal decentralization are related to changes in the political assessment metrics of local officials. It also shows that PGC fiscal reform has a significant positive effect on the environmental performance of large, small, and micro enterprises. Furthermore, it suggests that PGC fiscal reform benefits the environmental performance due to the informational advantages of county governments. In terms of environmental governance, although local governments have an information advantage in the allocation of green fiscal funds, well-designed mechanisms are needed to strengthen their motivation.
为了促进县域经济繁荣和社会发展，中国在 21 世纪初实施了一项名为“省直管县”（PGC）的财政改革。本研究利用 2003 年至 2011 年的大量企业数据，采用双重差分法（DID）考察了 PGC 改革对企业环境绩效的影响。结果表明，改革县的企业自财政改革以来污染强度显著降低。我们的研究表明，财政分权的环境效应与地方官员政治评估指标的变化有关。此外，研究还表明，PGC 财政改革对大型、小型和微型企业的环境绩效都有显著的积极影响。进一步表明，PGC 财政改革有利于环境绩效，因为县政府具有信息优势。在环境治理方面，尽管地方政府在绿色财政资金配置方面具有信息优势，但需要设计良好的机制来增强其激励。
