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Transboundary pollution in China: a study of polluting firms' location choices in Hebei province

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 April 2013

Chloé Duvivier  and
Hang Xiong
Chloé Duvivier
Affiliation:
CERDI, University of Auvergne, 65 Boulevard François Mitterrand, 63000 Clermont-Ferrand, France. E-mail: chloe.duvivier@udamail.fr
Hang Xiong
Affiliation:
CERDI, University of Auvergne, France; and College of Economics and Management, Nanjing Agricultural University, China. E-mail: xionghang@njau.edu.cn
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Abstract

Transboundary pollution is a particularly serious problem as it leads people located at regional borders to disproportionately suffer from pollution. In China, where the environmental policy is decentralized and where environmental conflicts between provinces have occurred several times, transboundary pollution is likely to exist. However, until now, nearly all the studies have focused on developed countries. In this paper we study whether transboundary pollution problems exist in China. To do so, we estimate whether, within Hebei province, polluting firms are more likely to set up in border counties than in interior ones. The estimations of a count-data model allow us to conclude that border counties are more attractive destinations for polluting firms than counties located within the province. Moreover, it appears that this effect has strengthened over time.

Type
Research Article
Information
Environment and Development Economics , Volume 18 , Issue 4 , August 2013 , pp. 459 - 483
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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