Environmental Efficiency and Its Determinants in China’s Regional Economies

Abstract

The increasing awareness of environmental protection has put great pressure on the improvement in environmental regulations in China. How has the current system performed in the nation’s rapidly growing economy? The answer to this question is either controversial or yet to be explored in the case of China. The objective of this paper is to present a quantitative analysis of environmental performance in China’s regional economies and to examine the determinants of regional variation in performance. The findings are employed to draw policy implications for environmental protection and shed light on sustainable development in China.Environmental efficiency, environmental regulation, the Chinese economy.