On Effects of Environmental Policy on Transboundary Watershed Pollution Control
In recent years,the vertical environmental governance policies represented by the river chief system have initially improved the water pollution issues.However,transboundary pollution in watersheds remains one of the most prominent environmental problems in China.Based on the causal inference analysis framework,this paper used the implementation of river chief system and horizontal ecological compensation as quasi-natural experiments,and used difference-in-differences-in-differences(DDD)method to investigate the dynamic trends and causes of the spatial transfer of water pollution-intensive industries.The research showed that there was a serious boundary effect of water pollution in China,with the implementation of river chief system inhibiting the upward migration of water pollution-intensive enterprises to some extent.Moreover,after the introduction of horizontal ecological compensation mechanism,the effect of river chief system on transboundary pollution in river basins was more remarkable.The mechanism underlying this effect was that of the horizontal ecological compensation policy provided incentives and constrains for river chiefs at all levels by introducing market mechanism.This approach weakened the bottom-level compensation among local governments regarding environmental regulation,and inhibited their motivation of sacrificing the environment for economic growth,thus promoting coordinated governance among regions.Further research indicated that the above-mentioned policies showed better policy effectiveness in regions with higher levels of economic development and greater pressure on emissions reduction.
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