Environmental Regulation and Employment: Evaluating the Role of Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law in China

Wei Yu


School of Management, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031, China; Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands (China)

Xiao Liu

yilvqingxin@163.com
School of Economics & Management, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China (China)


Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the impact of environmental regulations on employment in China. We apply a quasi-natural experiment on the revision of Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law in 2008 (WPPCL2008), and we analyze manufacturing sectors’ reaction to WPPCL2008 by using a differences-in-differences approach based on China’s thirty five sectors at the 2-digit level from 2003 to 2014. Our results show that although environmental regulations can reduce waste-water emissions, at the same time cause a decrease in employment. The results suggest that stringent environmental regulation is not cost free. Furthermore, this finding contradicts the popular view that the effect of Chinese legislation enforcement is insignificant.


Keywords:

environmental regulation, differences-in-differences, employment, Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law (WPPCL)

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Published
2018-07-02

Cited by

Yu, W., & Liu, X. (2018). Environmental Regulation and Employment: Evaluating the Role of Water Pollution Prevention and Control Law in China. Problemy Ekorozwoju, 13(2), 7–16. Retrieved from https://ph.pollub.pl/index.php/preko/article/view/5008

Authors

Wei Yu 

School of Management, Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330031, China; Copernicus Institute of Sustainable Development, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 2, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands China

Authors

Xiao Liu 
yilvqingxin@163.com
School of Economics & Management, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China China

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