School of Law and Business, Sanjiang University, Nanjing 210012, China.
China Institute of Manufacturing Development, Nanjing University of Information Science & Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Aug 28;18(17):9105. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18179105.
Urbanization has been positioned as an important driving force for economic development. This article examines the impact of urbanization on environmental regulation efficiency (ERE) in the Yangtze River Basin (YRB). Based on a panel dataset of 97 cities in the YRB from 2005 to 2016, a spatial econometric model was used for analysis. Results show that the average ERE in the YRB is relatively low and manifests in the shape of a curved smile. The urbanization level of the permanent population is far lower than the average level of developed countries. However, the urbanization level is showing a steady growth trend. During this period, ERE in the Yangtze River middle, upper, and lower reaches was measured at 0.77, 0.58, and 0.52, respectively. The urbanization rate was measured at 0.59, 0.45, and 0.39, in the lower, middle, and upper reaches, respectively. When only considering population urbanization, the previously observed negative correlation between ERE and the Kuznets curve disappears. However, if the carrying capacity of economic activities is considered, the U-shaped relationship between urbanization rate and ERE returns. The environmental Kuznets curve is consequently verified. In addition, there is an inverted U-shaped nonlinear relationship between economic development and ERE. The results of this article show that there are unsustainable risks in the rapid pursuit of population urbanization. Only by improving the quality of urbanization and adapting the level of urbanization to the carrying capacity of resources and environment can we truly promote high-quality economic development. The article puts forward some suggestions to promote the green development of the economy.
城市化被定位为经济发展的重要驱动力。本文考察了城市化对长江流域（YRB）环境监管效率（ERE）的影响。基于 2005 年至 2016 年 YRB 97 个城市的面板数据集，使用空间计量经济学模型进行了分析。结果表明，YRB 的平均 ERE 相对较低，呈现出弯曲的微笑形状。常住人口的城市化水平远低于发达国家的平均水平。然而，城市化水平呈稳步增长趋势。在此期间，长江中、上游和下游的 ERE 分别为 0.77、0.58 和 0.52，城市化率分别为 0.59、0.45 和 0.39。仅考虑人口城市化时，先前观察到的 ERE 与库兹涅茨曲线之间的负相关关系消失。然而，如果考虑经济活动的承载能力，则城市化率与 ERE 之间的 U 形关系会恢复。因此，环境库兹涅茨曲线得到了验证。此外，经济发展与 ERE 之间存在着倒 U 型非线性关系。本文的研究结果表明，在快速追求人口城市化的过程中存在不可持续的风险。只有提高城市化质量并使城市化水平适应资源和环境的承载能力，才能真正促进高质量的经济发展。文章提出了一些促进经济绿色发展的建议。
