Study on the effect of environmental regulations and industrial structure on haze pollution in China from the dual perspective of independence and linkage

As China haze pollution has been more and more serious, the government has issued many regulations to control it. As has been demonstrated that, nowadays industrial structure is one of the main causes of haze pollution. Considering the rationalization and upgrading of industrial structure, this paper explores the direct effect and interaction between environmental regulation and industrial structure. The spatial panel model has been used to conduct empirical research based on the province-level panel data of 30 Chinese provinces from 2006 to 2016. The results show that: from the perspective of independence, the environmental regulations play a significant role in reducing haze pollution within expectations. The industrial structure can reduce haze pollution through the path of rationalization, but the role of the industrial structure upgrading has not been shown for the time being. From the perspective of linkage, the development of environmental regulation has enhanced the haze reduction effect of industrial structure upgrading, while environmental regulation has not yet affected the haze reduction effect of new industrial structure rationalization. Finally, to test of regional heterogeneity, Hu Huanyong line is introduced as the baseline which divides China into southeast and northwest sides. On the southeast side, environmental regulations have a significant mitigation effect on haze, and it can effectively reduce haze pollution through rationalization of industrial structure. In contrast, the efficiency of environmental measures is not significant on the northwest side. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.