Study On The Influence Of Environmental Regulation On Regional Economic Growth

In the new era,the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life has become the principal contradiction in Chinese society.Since the reform and opening up,China’s economy has developed rapidly,but the environmental problems behind the growth have become increasingly serious.The frequent occurrence of smog,the frequent occurrence of abnormal weather,the decline of biodiversity,and a series of environmental problems contradict people’s needs for a better life.The issue of environmental governance has become an urgent demand of the people,and the introduction of the Environmental Protection Tax Law of the People’s Republic of China in January 2018 conforms to this trend.The "rigidity" of the environmental protection tax overcomes the drawbacks such as bargaining,rent-seeking,corruption and so on in the process of environmental protection fee collection,encourages enterprises to innovate,increases R&D investment,and reduces environmental pollution.The introduction of the reform of environmental protection fees and taxes shows that the government is determined to do a good job in environmental governance and transform the mode of economic development.Does the environmental regulation based on the implementation of environmental protection tax have a significant impact on China’s economic growth? Will environmental regulation featuring economic incentives promote balanced economic development in the east and central and western regions? Under the effect of environmental regulation,enterprises transfer manufacturing to the central and western regions.Will it bring environmental pollution while promoting the economic development of the central and western regions? Answering these questions will be of great significance to the perfection of environmental tax.In this context,based on 30 provinces and cities in China(except Hong Kong、Macao、Taiwan、Xizang)from 2008 to 2019 as the research object,static and dynamic panel models were established and regression analysis was carried out using the least square method and the two-step system GMM.From the national level and the regional level,the impact of environmental regulation on regional economic development is explored.Finally,the conclusion is drawn: from the national level,environmental regulation has a lag on economic development,and in the long run,it will promote the adjustment of industrial structure and have a positive effect on economic development.At the regional level,environmental regulation will promote balanced economic development by driving the transfer of environmental technology and scientific and technological talents from the eastern region to the central and western regions.Therefore,in order to reduce the resistance and cost of implementing environmental protection tax,the government should adhere to opening up and promote innovation-driven development of manufacturing industry.Local governments should reform the evaluation mechanism and optimize the government performance evaluation system.Further,the government should formulate differentiated environmental regulation strategies according to the differences of different regions in the eastern,central and western regions,give play to the role of central cities and urban agglomerations,and accelerate the coordinated regional development strategy.