Does the joint prevention and control of the atmospheric policy on pollution improve environmental performance? Based on the quasi-natural experiment of "2+26" CERs in China

Abstract

The joint prevention and control of atmospheric pollution (JPCAP) policy is a critical initiative for China to shift from territorial-based management to cross-regional environmental collaboration, which may have prominent impacts on environmental performance. Utilizing prefecture-level panel data from 2003 to 2018, this study adopts the DEA-Luenberger framework to evaluate the static and dynamic environmental performance of the industrial sector in the "2+26" CERs. A Difference-in-Differences (DID) model is applied to investigate the impact of the JPCAP policy on environmental performance. We observe that an upward trend in atmospheric environmental efficiency (EE) and atmospheric environmental total factor productivity (AETFP) growth, and there are significant differences across cities and variables. Industrial SO₂ (0.58%), industrial smoke and dust (0.28%), and excessive energy use in industry (0.31%) are crucial sources of regional atmospheric environmental inefficiency in urban industrial systems. The result indicates that the JPCAP policy significantly promotes environmental performance growth with time lag effect. Robustness and endogeneity tests confirm the reliability of these findings. The mechanism analysis reveals that the impact of JPCAP policy on AETFP growth is mainly achieved through green technology, innovation, and financial development. This study encourages local governments in "2+26" CERs to devise and implement more tailored and diversified regulatory strategies informed by observed productivity patterns. Our findings offer a novel insight into how the JPCAP can enhance environmental performance improvement and provides empirical support for policymakers to strengthen interregional environmental protection mechanisms.