The Impact of Government and Public Dual-Subject Environmental Concerns on Urban Haze Pollution: An Empirical Research on 279 Cities in China

Abstract

Based on 279 cities in China from 2011 to 2019 as research samples, this study used a fixed-effect regression model to investigate the influence of government and public dual-subject environmental concerns on urban haze pollution. The results show that: (1) Government and public environmental concerns have a significant negative impact on urban haze pollution. The results are still valid after a series of robustness tests and controlling for endogenous problems. (2) Further research found that dual-subject environmental concerns have a stronger negative effect on urban haze pollution in areas where there is a low level of Internet development and in western regions. (3) Through the test of the intermediary mechanism, it can be seen that the environmental concerns of the government and the public can reduce haze pollution by reducing policy uncertainty and capital element misallocation. In general, the policy effect is greater than the capital allocation effect. The research conclusions of this study will help to deepen the interpretation of the role of the government and the public in environmental governance and also provide a reference for cities to further promote haze governance.