Zeng Bing, Gao Wenhui, Wei Binyu, Shu Xiaojie
School of Economics, Anhui University of Finance and Economics, 962 Caoshan Road, Bengbu City, 233030, Anhui Province, China.
The Institute for Sustainable Development, Macau University of Science and Technology, O707, Avenida Wai Long, Taipa, 999078, Macau, China.
Sci Rep. 2025 Mar 22;15(1):9899. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-95202-8.
The group of college graduates is the top priority for stabilizing employment in China. This research explores the impact of air pollution on the employment flow of college graduates in the Yangtze River Delta by collecting and matching PM2.5 satellite data in grid form and the data from employment quality reports. The air flow coefficient is used as an instrumental variable of air pollution. Research has shown that there is a negative correlation between air pollution levels in a student's city of study and the likelihood of college graduates staying in the region after graduation. Namely, higher levels of air pollution are associated with lower intraregional stickiness rates. Also, graduate students are more susceptible to the effects of air pollution than undergraduates. And the impact of air pollution on the employment mobility of graduates is greater for those who attended public colleges and universities compared to those who attended private institutions. The conclusions of this research demonstrate the importance of air pollution governance in relation to graduate employment mobility and provide both theoretical support and empirical evidence for local authorities to manage and improve environmental quality and graduate employment opportunities.
高校毕业生群体是中国稳定就业的重中之重。本研究通过收集并匹配网格形式的PM2.5卫星数据和就业质量报告数据，探究空气污染对长江三角洲地区高校毕业生就业流动的影响。气流系数被用作空气污染的工具变量。研究表明，学生就读城市的空气污染水平与高校毕业生毕业后留在该地区的可能性之间存在负相关。也就是说，空气污染水平越高，区域内留存率越低。此外，研究生比本科生更容易受到空气污染的影响。与民办高校毕业生相比，空气污染对公办高校毕业生就业流动性的影响更大。本研究的结论证明了空气污染治理对毕业生就业流动性的重要性，为地方政府管理和改善环境质量及毕业生就业机会提供了理论支持和实证依据。
