Property rights governance and urban environmental pollution

Abstract Intellectual property rights governance plays a critical role in innovation protection and fosters a stronger connection between government involvement and sustainability. This paper extends property rights governance to environmental areas and uses staggered difference-in-differences to as...

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Main Authors: Shi Chen, Jie Peng, Zicheng Zhang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Springer Nature 2025-04-01
Series:Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04754-7
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author Shi Chen
Jie Peng
Zicheng Zhang
author_facet Shi Chen
Jie Peng
Zicheng Zhang
author_sort Shi Chen
collection DOAJ
description Abstract Intellectual property rights governance plays a critical role in innovation protection and fosters a stronger connection between government involvement and sustainability. This paper extends property rights governance to environmental areas and uses staggered difference-in-differences to assess its effect on urban environmental pollution, using a pilot policy named National Intellectual Property Rights Demonstration Cities (NIPRDC). Our findings indicate that NIPRDC significantly reduces environmental pollution, confirmed by a set of robust tests. Meanwhile, resource-based cities show a more prominent reduction effect, and cities with higher levels of digital infrastructure and property rights protection perform better in pollution reduction. Then, the influencing mechanisms focus on green innovation and market competition. Notably, besides its macro-effect, NIPRDC also drives an industrial green transition. This study provides valuable insights for governments to utilize the advantages of NIPRDC and adopt more effective measures to balance economy and environment.
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issn 2662-9992
language English
publishDate 2025-04-01
publisher Springer Nature
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series Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
spelling doaj-art-aaa3d4c5bcdd495eacd884bd006f51f52025-08-20T02:08:08ZengSpringer NatureHumanities & Social Sciences Communications2662-99922025-04-0112111310.1057/s41599-025-04754-7Property rights governance and urban environmental pollutionShi Chen0Jie Peng1Zicheng Zhang2School of Urban and Regional Science, Shanghai University of Finance and EconomicsSchool of Urban and Regional Science, Shanghai University of Finance and EconomicsSchool of Economics and Management, Tongji UniversityAbstract Intellectual property rights governance plays a critical role in innovation protection and fosters a stronger connection between government involvement and sustainability. This paper extends property rights governance to environmental areas and uses staggered difference-in-differences to assess its effect on urban environmental pollution, using a pilot policy named National Intellectual Property Rights Demonstration Cities (NIPRDC). Our findings indicate that NIPRDC significantly reduces environmental pollution, confirmed by a set of robust tests. Meanwhile, resource-based cities show a more prominent reduction effect, and cities with higher levels of digital infrastructure and property rights protection perform better in pollution reduction. Then, the influencing mechanisms focus on green innovation and market competition. Notably, besides its macro-effect, NIPRDC also drives an industrial green transition. This study provides valuable insights for governments to utilize the advantages of NIPRDC and adopt more effective measures to balance economy and environment.https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04754-7
spellingShingle Shi Chen
Jie Peng
Zicheng Zhang
Property rights governance and urban environmental pollution
Humanities & Social Sciences Communications
title Property rights governance and urban environmental pollution
title_full Property rights governance and urban environmental pollution
title_fullStr Property rights governance and urban environmental pollution
title_full_unstemmed Property rights governance and urban environmental pollution
title_short Property rights governance and urban environmental pollution
title_sort property rights governance and urban environmental pollution
url https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-025-04754-7
work_keys_str_mv AT shichen propertyrightsgovernanceandurbanenvironmentalpollution
AT jiepeng propertyrightsgovernanceandurbanenvironmentalpollution
AT zichengzhang propertyrightsgovernanceandurbanenvironmentalpollution