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Political incentives, Party Congress, and pollution cycle: empirical evidence from China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 July 2020

Zhihua Tian  and
Yanfang Tian Open the ORCID record for Yanfang Tian [Opens in a new window]
Zhihua Tian
Affiliation:
School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Technology, Hangzhou, China
Yanfang Tian*
Affiliation:
School of Political Science and Public Administration, East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai, China
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: tianyanfang@outlook.com
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Abstract

The political incentives of local officials affect their preferences for policy options. This study examines the impact of the convening cycle of Provincial Communist Party Congresses (PCPCs) in China on pollution emission intensity. Based on the data of 281 cities and city officials from 2003 to 2014, the present study finds strong evidence of a political pollution cycle manifesting as significant increases in pollution emission intensity before PCPCs followed by visible decreases after PCPCs. PCPCs provide city officials with strong political incentives to pursue short-term economic performance before congresses, which leads to a surge in pollution emission intensity. The difference in pollution emission intensity before and after the PCPCs reveals the existence of such political incentives. The findings suggest that a significant relationship exists between the political incentives of city officials and environmental pollution. Therefore, the effective governance of environmental pollution must involve changing the incentive structure of city officials.

Keywords

Chinacity officialsCommunist Party Congresseconomic developmentpolitical incentivespolitical pollution cycle

JEL classification

Q56: Environment and Development • Environment and Trade • Sustainability • Environmental Accounts and Accounting • Environmental Equity • Population Growth R58: Regional Development Planning and Policy Q58: Government Policy P28: Natural Resources • Energy • Environment
Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 26 , Issue 2 , April 2021 , pp. 188 - 204
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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