College of Economics, Sichuan Agricultural University, Chengdu, 611130, China.
College of Economics and Management, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400700, China.
J Environ Manage. 2024 Jun;360:121175. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.121175. Epub 2024 May 14.
The fiscal system plays an important role in the government's environmental governance efforts. There is currently no consensus on how fiscal structure adjustments impact pollution and carbon reduction. This paper uses China's fiscal "province-managing-county" reform (FPMCR) implemented in 2004 as a quasi-natural experiment, utilizing panel data from 1670 counties in China from 2000 to 2020 to investigate the impact of fiscal decentralization on reduction pollution and carbon emissions (RPCE), as well as its underlying mechanisms. The results show that (1) from 2000 to 2020, China's RPCE shows an overall trend of fluctuating increase, with its value turning positive after 2013. China's RPCE exhibits a spatial pattern characterized by "lower in the north, higher in the south; higher in the east, lower in the west". (2) After implementing FPMCR, the RPCE levels in reformed counties decreased by -1.44%, showing that reformed county-level governments prioritize economic development over environmental protection. (3) The mechanism analysis found that after implementing FPMCR, reformed counties experienced a 9.16% increase in nighttime light intensity (NLI), and a 3.99% and 4.34% increase in the number of large-scale industrial enterprises (NLIE) and industrial agglomeration (IA), respectively. This suggests that FPMCR leads to radical urbanization and rapid industrialization in counties, which is detrimental to the improvement of RPCE levels. (4) The spatial heterogeneity analysis found that FPMCR's impact coefficient on RPCE levels in the eastern regions is -1.96%, while in the western regions it is -1.16%. This indicates that reformed counties in the eastern regions are more likely to invest expanded fiscal resources in economic development projects, leading to a decrease in RPCE levels. (5) The temporal heterogeneity analysis found that after the promulgation of the "Three-Year Action Plan to Win the Blue Sky Defense Battle" in 2018, the adverse impact of FPMCR on RPCE is completely reversed, leading to a 1.76% increase in RPCE levels. (6) Further analysis reveals that localizing leaders can slow down the promotion of county-level urbanization and industrialization by the FPMCR, benefiting the improvement of RPCE levels. In other words, "the outsider monk will not recite scriptures as well as a local one". This study has clarified the causal relationship and underlying mechanisms between fiscal decentralization and environmental governance, providing reliable theoretical support for optimizing grassroots fiscal systems and reducing environmental pollution in other transitional economies. It enriches the field of environmental economics related to fiscal decentralization.
财政制度在政府环境治理工作中发挥着重要作用。财政结构调整如何影响污染和减排，目前尚未达成共识。本文利用 2004 年中国实施的财政“省管县”改革（FPMCR）作为准自然实验，利用 2000 年至 2020 年中国 1670 个县的面板数据，考察财政分权对减排的影响污染和碳排放（RPCE），以及其潜在机制。结果表明：（1）2000 年至 2020 年，中国的 RPCE 呈波动上升的总体趋势，2013 年后呈正值。中国的 RPCE 呈现出“北低南高，东高西低”的空间格局。（2）实施 FPMCR 后，改革县的 RPCE 水平下降了-1.44%，表明改革县一级政府更注重经济发展而非环境保护。（3）机制分析发现，实施 FPMCR 后，改革县的夜间灯光强度（NLI）增加了 9.16%，大型工业企业（NLIE）和工业集聚（IA）的数量分别增加了 3.99%和 4.34%。这表明 FPMCR 导致县一级的城市化和工业化迅速发展，不利于提高 RPCE 水平。（4）空间异质性分析发现，FPMCR 对东部地区 RPCE 水平的影响系数为-1.96%，而在西部地区为-1.16%。这表明东部地区的改革县更有可能将扩大的财政资源投入到经济发展项目中，从而降低 RPCE 水平。（5）时间异质性分析发现，2018 年“打赢蓝天保卫战三年行动计划”颁布后，FPMCR 对 RPCE 的不利影响完全逆转，导致 RPCE 水平提高了 1.76%。（6）进一步分析表明，本地化领导人可以减缓 FPMCR 推动县级城市化和工业化的步伐，有利于提高 RPCE 水平。换句话说，“外来的和尚不会念经”。本研究厘清了财政分权与环境治理之间的因果关系和内在机制，为优化基层财政体制、减少其他转型经济体的环境污染提供了可靠的理论支撑。丰富了财政分权与环境经济学领域的相关研究。
