Date of Publication :19th September 2023

Abstract: In the context of addressing global climate change and achieving sustainable development, understanding the mechanisms, conducting comprehensive assessments, and making specific policy improvements in environmental policies have become important research topics. By constructing a Schumpeterian growth framework that incorporates negative environmental externalities, this paper provides a theoretical analysis of how environmental policies impact the level of technological innovation and industrial structural transformation among industries by adjusting the interactions and resource allocations of different sectors. Using the Action Plan for Air Pollution Prevention and Control as a natural experiment, we empirically test the conclusions drawn from the theoretical model. The empirical study reveals that the implementation of the Action Plan has yielded positive results in promoting technological innovation and reducing haze pollution. There is a significant negative correlation between the increase in technological innovation and the decrease in haze pollution levels. Further research indicates that although technological innovation is constrained by the existing industrial structure, an improvement in the level of technological innovation has a positive impact on the rationalization of the industrial structure after the implementation of the Action Plan. Furthermore, the improvement in technological innovation level is significantly and negatively correlated with the decline in haze pollution levels, regardless of whether it is in resource-based cities, non-resource-based cities, key regions, or non-key regions, which further verifies the effectiveness of the Action Plan. This study evaluates the policy effects of environmental governance in China from the perspective of technological innovation and provides specific policy implications. These findings and policy recommendations offer valuable insights for understanding and enhancing environmental governance policies in China.

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