Evaluating the impact of central environmental protection inspection on air pollution: An empirical research in China

Based on the panel data of various daily air pollution indicators of 288 prefecture-level cities in China from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2018, this paper takes the first round of central environmental protection inspection (CEPI) as a quasi-natural experiment, and empirically analyzes its impact on urban air pollution by using multi-period difference-in-difference (DID) method. The results show that: (1) the first round of five batches of environmental inspection and two batches of looking back have significantly reduced the concentration of seven pollutants; (2) The first five batches of environmental inspection have a stronger impact on reducing air pollution than looking back; Moreover, in the short term after the inspection, it still has a significant reduction effect on air pollution; (3) The impact of central environmental protection inspection on air pollution shows strong heterogeneity in different batches of inspections, urban scale and economic development level, as well as the air quality level of cities before the inspection. The research results of this paper provide corresponding policy recommendations and decision-making basis for the Chinese central government to further deepen the reform of environmental protection supervision mechanism and promote the emissions of multiple pollutants mitigation. (c) 2022 Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

This study analyzes the panel data of air pollution indicators from 288 prefecture-level cities in China between January 1, 2015, and December 31, 2018. It uses the first round of central environmental protection inspection as a quasi-natural experiment and empirically examines its impact on urban air pollution using a multi-period difference-in-difference method. The results show that the inspections have significantly reduced the concentration of seven pollutants, with the first five batches having a stronger effect than the subsequent "looking back" inspections. Furthermore, the inspections continue to have a significant reduction effect on air pollution in the short term. The impact of the inspections varies across different batches, urban scales, economic development levels, and pre-inspection air quality levels. The research findings provide policy recommendations and decision-making basis for the Chinese central government to further reform the environmental protection supervision mechanism and mitigate multiple pollutants emissions.