Economic Growth, Urban Governance, and Environment Protection

We empirically examine the impact of economic growth on air pollution and the regulating effect of urban governance. The results show that there is an inverse U relationship between economic growth (GDP) and regional sulfur dioxide(SO2) emissions, and urban governance have a weak regulating effect. Further research has found that extensive growth at the expense of the environment can cause an increase in the profitability of regional enterprises, which is more obvious in state-owned and state-controlled enterprises. In this paper, we embed urban governance into the analytical framework, enriching the research literature on environmental governance, and providing empirical evidence for relevant policy setting.

Automated summary

The study found an inverse U relationship between economic growth and air pollution, with weak regulatory effects from urban governance. Moreover, extensive growth at the cost of the environment can lead to increased profitability for regional enterprises, particularly state-owned and state-controlled ones. Embedding urban governance into the analytical framework enriches the literature on environmental governance and provides empirical evidence for policy-making.