Ma, Y.; Cao, H.; Zhang, L., and Fu, Z., 2020. Relationship between local government competition, environmental regulation and water pollutant emissions: Analysis based on mediating effect and panel threshold model. In: Yang, Y.; Mi, C.; Zhao, L., and Lam, S. (eds.), Global Topics and New Trends in Coastal Research: Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 103, pp. 511–515. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Water has been further polluted by “development at the cost of environment” since the reform and opening up. The emission of water pollutant in China is closely related to political economy, and local government competition is an important factor in pollution control. This paper specifically studied direct and indirect effects of local government competition on environmental pollutant emissions, and tested the nonlinear relationship between local government competition and water pollutant emissions. The results show that local government competition has been characterized by “race to the top”, which has direct and indirect effects. Formal environmental regulation plays a mediating role in the process of local government competition affecting water pollutant emissions, but informal environmental regulation does not play such a role. With increasing formal environmental regulation, local government competition is playing a bigger role in suppressing water pollutant emissions.

This content is only available as a PDF.
You do not currently have access to this content.