This paper first estimates the energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and carbon intensity of China's 30 provinces from 2000 to 2015. By constructing a 4-variable Panel Vector Auto-regression ...(PVAR) model, the paper quantitatively analyzes the dynamic relationship among urbanization, industrial structure, energy and carbon intensity in China during urbanization and industrialization stage. The results show that urbanization process and the advancement of industrial structure are consistent with the optimization goals of energy and carbon intensity. In the long term, energy and carbon intensity will decline with the development of urbanization and the advancement of industrial structure. But urbanization process has an inverted U-shaped effect on energy and carbon intensity, while the influence of industrial structure advancement on energy and carbon intensity increases over time. In contrast, the positive impact of energy intensity on carbon intensity is mainly reflected in the short term. This paper confirms the importance of urbanization and upgrading of industrial structure in the goal of energy saving and emissions reduction. Thus, this paper suggests that each province should adopt the upgrading of industrial structure as one of the policy goals, and constantly promote new urbanization process, following their own development characteristics.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
This paper primarily studies the air quality in China's cities during the urbanization stage. Using a cross-sectional data of 282 cities, we discuss the influencing factors and the existence of the ...Kuznets Curve for three air pollutants based on the EKC (Environmental Kuznets Curve) theory and the BMA (Bayesian Model Average) method. The results show that the concentration of SO2 and PM10 presents the characteristics of an inverse-U shape. The urbanization process has a significant and negative effect on air pollutant concentration, which means that cities with higher urbanization rate tends to have lower air pollutant concentration. Population density, possession of civil motor vehicles, the proportion of secondary industry, and annual average temperature are the main influencing factors of air pollution. Based on these results, this paper suggests that China should speed up the “new” type urbanization process, constantly optimize the industrial structure, and promote the harmonious development of the economy and environment.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZRSKP
•The impact of economic growth pressure on energy efficiency improvement is discussed.•Economic growth pressure has hindered the improvement of energy efficiency.•Heterogeneity effects exist in ...individual dimension and temporal dimension.
Economic growth target management has been a typical feature of Chinese governments at all levels for a long time in the past decades. Based on a panel data of 188 Chinese cities, this paper examines the impact of pressure brought by economic growth target on energy efficiency improvement. The results suggest that economic growth pressure has hindered the improvement of energy efficiency. For every unit of increase in economic growth pressure, the improvement indicator of energy efficiency will decrease by 3.3%. This finding is robust, after replacing explained variables and core explanatory variables, no substantial changes are found. Sub-sample regression confirms the existence of heterogeneity effects in individual dimension and temporal dimension. Finally, by summarizing existing studies, this paper finds that the investment imbalance effect, the hindrance effect on industrial structure upgrading, and the crowding-out effect on innovation are three important ways for economic growth pressure to restrain the improvement of energy efficiency. Our findings are helpful to understand the role of the government’s economic growth target management in resource allocation and energy utilization and provide a certain practical reference for China to promote high-quality economic development.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The Clean Air Action is considered an important measure to control air pollution. Despite extensive studies on the benefits or the cost of the Clean Air Action, the overall effect of such an action ...on green development is largely unknown. This paper tries to fill this gap. Based on panel data of 278 Chinese cities, this paper begins with the construction of a comprehensive indicator, namely green production efficiency, to reflect the green development over the period 2011 to 2016, we then implement the quasi-difference-in-differences framework to identify the policy effect of the Clean Air Action on green development. The following findings are obtained: (1) The Clean Air Action has enhanced the green development of Chinese cities, especially in areas with relatively high reduction target and rich resource endowment; (2) The dynamic analysis reveals that the positive effect of the Clean Air Action on green development presents an intensifying trend with time. This paper provides new insights to understand the Clean Air Action, based on these findings, we propose that future policies should focus on the transformation of overall green development and take full account of regional heterogeneity.
•Policy effect of the Clean Air Action is analyzed.•The green production efficiency is used to represent green development.•The Clean Air Action has enhanced the green development of Chinese cities.•Heterogeneous effects exist among Chinese cities.•Future policy design should be tailored to regional levels.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Understanding the convergence patterns of energy intensity and the drivers leading to the club convergence are of great significance for local governments to implement targeted policies to improve ...energy efficiency. With this in mind, we begin with the collection of energy consumption data of 193 Chinese cities at prefecture level or above, then we adopt the log t-test and clustering algorithm to investigate convergence characteristics of energy intensity. Besides, the Ordered Probit model is adopted to investigate the drivers that affect the formulation of convergent club. We identify four convergent clubs among total 193 cities, and these clubs show great differences in energy intensity. Marketization degree, population density, foreign direct investment, resource endowment, and industrial structure are recognized as the drivers of the formation of convergence clubs. This paper adds more evidence to understand the energy intensity gap, we propose that upgrading the industrial structure, exerting economic assemble advantage, enhancing the level of opening up, and improving the marketization level are favorable measures to reduce energy intensity.
•Convergence analysis of city-level energy intensity is conducted.•Four convergence clubs in terms of energy intensity are found.•Drivers that affect the formation of club convergence are investigated.•Policy suggestions to narrow energy intensity gap are proposed.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
•An energy saving and emission reduction policy is analyzed in this paper.•This policy has a significant and positive effect on sustainable development.•Policy effect emerges three years later after ...the implementation of this policy.•Long-term mechanism for energy saving and emissions reduction should be established.
“National Comprehensive Demonstration of Energy Saving and Emission Reduction Fiscal Policy” (ESER policy) is an important measure for urban pollution control and energy conservation in China. A reasonable evaluation of this policy can provide a reference to further promote energy saving and emissions reduction work. Using the panel data of 114 Chinese cities, this paper explores the effect of ESER policy on urban sustainable development. We first construct a sustainable indicator, which is defined as eco-efficiency, by using the non-directional distance function method. Then we evaluate the effect of ESER policy on eco-efficiency by adopting the Difference-in-differences method. The conclusions based on the findings include: (1) The eco-efficiency of Chinese cities has been effectively improved during the study period. (2) The baseline estimate reveals that the ESER policy has a positive and statistically significant effect on eco-efficiency, while the event study corroborates that ESER policy is ineffective in the short term, but the policy effect emerges three years later after the implementation of ESER policy. (3) A series of identification tests prove that the results are robust and credible. Our findings contribute to the understanding of energy saving and emissions reduction policies.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Reducing pollutant emissions while ensuring a stable economic growth is an important embodiment of sustainable development. Based on the “National Comprehensive demonstration of Energy Saving and ...Emission Reduction Fiscal Policy” (“ESER” policy) proposed by the Chinese government in 2011, this paper analyzes the impact of such policy on emissions reduction and economic growth. Under the framework of Differences-in-differences (DID) method, this paper first identifies the implementation conditions of “ESER” policy. Then we adopt three specifications to control the endogenous problem for the selection of demonstration cities. The robustness test verifies the reliability of our findings, and the spillover effect analysis reveals the deficiency of this policy. We reach the following conclusions: (1) Different from the previous studies, we find that the “ESER” policy can effectively reduce the pollutant emissions while ensuring a stable economic growth. (2) However, the event study reveals that the reduction effect is only existing in the demonstration period, which means that this policy is not sustainable. (3) Furthermore, we find no spillover effect of “ESER” policy on the non-policy targeted pollutant, suggesting that the local government only cares about the reduction of policy targeted pollutants. Based on these findings, we propose that the future energy saving and emissions reduction policy formulation should focus on the policy sustainability and overall environmental performance.
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•We explore the effect of an energy saving and emissions reduction policy.•Differences-in-Differences (DID) framework is applied in this paper.•This policy can effectively reduce targeted pollutants emissions.•No spillover effect of this policy on non-targeted pollutant.•Future policy formulation should focus on overall environmental performance.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
•China’s electricity consumption and its efficiency is analyzed.•Most regions witnessed a decline in electricity consumption efficiency.•There are significant differences in efficiency with a range ...from 0.372 to 1.000.•There is a negative impact of electrification level on electricity efficiency.•Rationalizing industrial structure is helpful for improving electricity efficiency.
Electricity plays an important role in economic and social development. China’s coal-based power generation structure emits a large quantity of greenhouse gases. Improving electricity consumption efficiency is an important measure for energy conservation and emission mitigation. With this in mind, this study analyzes the influencing factors of electricity consumption and estimates the electricity consumption efficiency by considering the role of structural changes in China’s 30 provinces over the period 2006–2015. The following findings are obtained: (1) Per capita income, urbanization, population, the proportion of secondary industry, and electricity price have significant impacts on electricity consumption. (2) The optimization of industrial structure is conducive for improving the electricity consumption efficiency and has a significant impact, while the improvement in electrification level will lead to a decrease in efficiency score during the study period. (3) There are significant differences in electricity consumption efficiency with a range from 0.372 to 1.000, depending on different model specifications, regions, and years. This paper sheds new light on the electricity demand and its efficiency. Based on these findings, this paper proposes some targeted policy recommendations.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Industrial transformation is the key to urban transformation. Despite extensive studies on the topic of resource curse, limited studies have analyzed the impact of resource dependence on industrial ...transformation, especially taking into account the role of institutional quality. This paper attempts to fill such research gap. Based on a panel dataset of 283 China’s cities, this paper analyzes the effect of resource dependence on industrial transformation under the background of China’s market-oriented reform by using multiple econometric models. We find that resource dependence is indeed an important factor that causes the industrial structure to be dominated by secondary industry, indicating that resource dependence has a lock-in effect on industrial transformation. Besides, we also confirm that resource dependence has a non-linear impact on the industrial structure under different marketization levels, and China’s market-oriented reform can alleviate the lock-in effect to some extent. Based on these findings, we propose that local governments should pay attention to the regulatory role of market-oriented reform in industrial transformation.
•This paper discusses the effect of resource endowment on industrial transformation.•We consider the regulatory role of China’s market-oriented reform.•Resource endowment has lock-in effect on industrial transformation.•China’s market-oriented reform can alleviate the lock-in effect.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Synergistic therapy that combines chemo‐, gene‐, or photothermal means shows great potential for enhancing the therapeutic effects on cancers. Tumor‐targeted nanoparticles based on a doxorubicin ...(DOX)‐gated mesoporous silica nanocore (MSN) encapsulated with permeability glycoprotein (P‐gp) small interfering RNA (siRNA) and a polydopamine (PDA) outer layer for DOX loading and folic acid decoration are designed. The multifunctional nanoplatform tactfully integrates chemo‐ (DOX), gene‐ (P‐gp siRNA), and photothermal (PDA layer) substances in one system. In vitro results reveal that DOX release behaviors are both pH‐ and thermal‐responsive and the release of co‐delivered P‐gp siRNA is also pH‐dependent due to the pH‐cleavable DOX gatekeeper on MSN. In addition, due to the near‐infrared light‐responsive PDA outer layer and folic acid conjugation, the nanoparticles exhibit outstanding photothermal activity and selective cell targeting ability. Subsequently, in vitro and in vivo antitumor experiments both demonstrate the enhanced antitumor efficacy of the multifunctional nanoparticles, indicating the significance of synergistic therapy combining chemo‐, gene‐, and photothermal treatments in one system.
A novel drug and siRNA codelivery system based on polydopamine‐coated drug‐self‐gated mesoporous silica is developed. This drug delivery platform possesses three different therapeutic effects: chemo‐, gene‐, and photothermal therapy. Moreover, this nanosystem with tumor‐targeting and pH‐responsive abilities is also endowed. The enhanced tumor therapy effect is demonstrated by both in vitro and in vivo studies.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
