Coupling and Coordinated Development of Environmental Regulation and the Upgrading of Industrial Structure: Evidence from China’s 10 Major Urban Agglomerations

Exploring the coupling and coordinated development of formal and informal environmental regulation, as well as their impact on the upgrading of the industrial structure of urban agglomerations, represents a new breakthrough. The comprehensive index of formal environmental regulation, informal enviro...

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Main Authors: Xiaozhou Zheng, Renming Liu, Huiping Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-08-01
Series:Economies
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/9/231
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author Xiaozhou Zheng
Renming Liu
Huiping Wang
author_facet Xiaozhou Zheng
Renming Liu
Huiping Wang
author_sort Xiaozhou Zheng
collection DOAJ
description Exploring the coupling and coordinated development of formal and informal environmental regulation, as well as their impact on the upgrading of the industrial structure of urban agglomerations, represents a new breakthrough. The comprehensive index of formal environmental regulation, informal environmental regulation, and industrial structure upgrading is calculated using the entropy method based on sample data from 127 cities in China’s ten major urban agglomerations between 2003 and 2019. The characteristics of the coupling and coordinated development between formal and informal environmental regulation in these urban agglomerations are examined using a coupling coordination degree model. Furthermore, the effects of the coupling and coordinated development of formal and informal environmental regulation on the industrial structure upgrading in urban agglomerations are analyzed through fixed-effect and threshold regression models. The findings demonstrate that although the development of urban agglomerations remains unbalanced, the overall coupling coordination degree between formal and informal environmental regulation is increasing. Generally, the ten major urban agglomerations have transitioned from a state of reluctance coordination to primary coordination. The Pearl River Delta urban agglomerations have progressed from reluctance coordination to middle coordination, while the Yangtze River Delta, Shandong Peninsula, Central Plains, and Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei urban agglomerations have advanced from reluctance coordination to primary coordination. The remaining five urban agglomerations have shifted from near disorder to reluctance coordination. The coupling and coordinated development of formal and informal environmental regulation significantly promote the upgrading of the industrial structure in both overall and grouped samples of urban agglomerations, and the higher the degree of coupling coordination, the greater the promoting effect. Moreover, when informal environmental regulation is considered as a threshold variable, the coupling coordination degree exhibits a broken-line relationship with the industrial structure upgrading in urban agglomerations. Currently, the intensity of informal environmental regulations is relatively reasonable in China’s ten major urban agglomerations, and the coordinated development of formal and informal environmental regulations has an impact on the industrial structure of urban agglomerations. Finally, this paper proposes corresponding suggestions encompassing the construction of an environmental regulation policy system, differentiated industrial policy, and the coordinated promotion of various policies.
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spelling doaj-art-6294da99296c4e848b11dce96f32f2d62025-08-20T01:55:26ZengMDPI AGEconomies2227-70992024-08-0112923110.3390/economies12090231Coupling and Coordinated Development of Environmental Regulation and the Upgrading of Industrial Structure: Evidence from China’s 10 Major Urban AgglomerationsXiaozhou Zheng0Renming Liu1Huiping Wang2Research Center of Resource Environment and Regional Economy, Xi’an University of Finance and Economics, Xi’an 710100, ChinaSchool of Economics, Xi’an University of Finance and Economics, Xi’an 710100, ChinaResearch Center of Resource Environment and Regional Economy, Xi’an University of Finance and Economics, Xi’an 710100, ChinaExploring the coupling and coordinated development of formal and informal environmental regulation, as well as their impact on the upgrading of the industrial structure of urban agglomerations, represents a new breakthrough. The comprehensive index of formal environmental regulation, informal environmental regulation, and industrial structure upgrading is calculated using the entropy method based on sample data from 127 cities in China’s ten major urban agglomerations between 2003 and 2019. The characteristics of the coupling and coordinated development between formal and informal environmental regulation in these urban agglomerations are examined using a coupling coordination degree model. Furthermore, the effects of the coupling and coordinated development of formal and informal environmental regulation on the industrial structure upgrading in urban agglomerations are analyzed through fixed-effect and threshold regression models. The findings demonstrate that although the development of urban agglomerations remains unbalanced, the overall coupling coordination degree between formal and informal environmental regulation is increasing. Generally, the ten major urban agglomerations have transitioned from a state of reluctance coordination to primary coordination. The Pearl River Delta urban agglomerations have progressed from reluctance coordination to middle coordination, while the Yangtze River Delta, Shandong Peninsula, Central Plains, and Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei urban agglomerations have advanced from reluctance coordination to primary coordination. The remaining five urban agglomerations have shifted from near disorder to reluctance coordination. The coupling and coordinated development of formal and informal environmental regulation significantly promote the upgrading of the industrial structure in both overall and grouped samples of urban agglomerations, and the higher the degree of coupling coordination, the greater the promoting effect. Moreover, when informal environmental regulation is considered as a threshold variable, the coupling coordination degree exhibits a broken-line relationship with the industrial structure upgrading in urban agglomerations. Currently, the intensity of informal environmental regulations is relatively reasonable in China’s ten major urban agglomerations, and the coordinated development of formal and informal environmental regulations has an impact on the industrial structure of urban agglomerations. Finally, this paper proposes corresponding suggestions encompassing the construction of an environmental regulation policy system, differentiated industrial policy, and the coordinated promotion of various policies.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/9/231environmental regulationcoupling and coordinated developmentupgrading of industrial structureurban agglomerationspanel threshold regression modelspanel data
spellingShingle Xiaozhou Zheng
Renming Liu
Huiping Wang
Coupling and Coordinated Development of Environmental Regulation and the Upgrading of Industrial Structure: Evidence from China’s 10 Major Urban Agglomerations
Economies
environmental regulation
coupling and coordinated development
upgrading of industrial structure
urban agglomerations
panel threshold regression models
panel data
title Coupling and Coordinated Development of Environmental Regulation and the Upgrading of Industrial Structure: Evidence from China’s 10 Major Urban Agglomerations
title_full Coupling and Coordinated Development of Environmental Regulation and the Upgrading of Industrial Structure: Evidence from China’s 10 Major Urban Agglomerations
title_fullStr Coupling and Coordinated Development of Environmental Regulation and the Upgrading of Industrial Structure: Evidence from China’s 10 Major Urban Agglomerations
title_full_unstemmed Coupling and Coordinated Development of Environmental Regulation and the Upgrading of Industrial Structure: Evidence from China’s 10 Major Urban Agglomerations
title_short Coupling and Coordinated Development of Environmental Regulation and the Upgrading of Industrial Structure: Evidence from China’s 10 Major Urban Agglomerations
title_sort coupling and coordinated development of environmental regulation and the upgrading of industrial structure evidence from china s 10 major urban agglomerations
topic environmental regulation
coupling and coordinated development
upgrading of industrial structure
urban agglomerations
panel threshold regression models
panel data
url https://www.mdpi.com/2227-7099/12/9/231
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AT renmingliu couplingandcoordinateddevelopmentofenvironmentalregulationandtheupgradingofindustrialstructureevidencefromchinas10majorurbanagglomerations
AT huipingwang couplingandcoordinateddevelopmentofenvironmentalregulationandtheupgradingofindustrialstructureevidencefromchinas10majorurbanagglomerations