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OAJRC Environmental Science

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Article Open Access http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/oajrces.2024.06.004

Can Informal Environmental Regulation Promote Urban Green Economy Efficiency? A Quasi-natural Experiment from Environmental Information Disclosure

Wenyu Xie1,*, Zheng Sun2

1School of Economics and Finance, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

2International Business School, Guangdong University of Finance & Economics, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China.

*Corresponding author:Wenyu Xie

Published: September 14,2024

Abstract

In this article, we construct the Green Economy Efficiency Index to evaluate the efficiency of the green economy in Chinese prefectural cities and above from 2006 to 2021. This evaluation employs the non-radial directional distance function within the framework of super-efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). We empirically analyze the impact of environmental information disclosure on urban green economy efficiency using Difference-in-Differences (DID) and Propensity Score Matching-Difference-in-Differences (PSM-DID) methods in a quasi-natural experiment. This experiment involves the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), which disclosed information regarding pollution source regulation in selected cities in 2008. The results indicate that: (1) Environmental information disclosure significantly enhances urban green economy efficiency, and this conclusion demonstrates strong robustness; (2) The mediating mechanism test reveals that environmental information disclosure improves urban green economy efficiency by fostering green innovation and attracting foreign direct investment. Therefore, China should further enhance and refine its environmental information disclosure system, increase policy support for green innovation, actively leverage foreign direct investment to promote green development, strengthen the capacity of local government environmental governance, and ensure the effective implementation of environmental information disclosure policies to advance the development of the green economy.

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How to cite this paper

Can Informal Environmental Regulation Promote Urban Green Economy Efficiency? A Quasi-natural Experiment from Environmental Information Disclosure

How to cite this paper: Wenyu Xie, Zheng Sun(2024) Can Informal Environmental Regulation Promote Urban Green Economy Efficiency? A Quasi-natural Experiment from Environmental Information DisclosureOAJRC Environmental Science5(2), 53-64.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/oajrces.2024.06.004