Research On The Impact Of Environmental Regulation On Competitiveness Of Resource-based Industries In The Western Areas Of China

Resource-based industries in the western region have a pivotal position, but overall competitiveness of resource-based industries is not strong in the western region, and it is the major pollution-intensive industry. The low efficiency in resource utilization brings about the negative externalities of ecological environment in the western region, and severely restricts the realization of sustainable economic development in the Western. Faced with economic comprehensive transformation of the new normal, how to properly adjust to changes in the new situation for resource-based industries is a problem. At present, many scholars have realized the environmental problems of the resource-based industries, emphasizing the importance of coordinated development in the industrial and environmental protection, but neither from the perspective of environmental regulation, nor researching on the specific impact of environmental regulation on resource-based industries competitiveness, or giving a scientific quantification and assessment of regional environmental regulation level. Therefore, it is important to straighten out the relationship between them, which is potential constraint to improve the competitiveness of the resource-based industries of western areas. In this paper, the integrated use of environmental economics theory, competitiveness theory, industrial economics, the theory of sustainable development to do a research on the role and impact of environmental regulation on the competitiveness of resource-based industries in western region, explore the conduction path and the law of environmental regulation, so that to master both the intrinsic link between them, This has important theoretical and realistic significance for improving environmental regulation of soft power, optimization integration degree of environmental regulation and industrial competitiveness, and to further enhance resources industry competitiveness and realize the sustainable development in the western region.Firstly, based on the related literature at home and abroad, this paper clearly defines the concept of the resources industry, environmental regulation and industrial competitiveness, puts the resources industry development of western in the macro situation of national economic transformation and energy saving and emission reduction. Analyzes the present situation of its own development and the historical evolution, pointed out which face serious problems and development bottleneck. It is necessary to increase the severity of the industry competitiveness for subsequent research linking and find out the reality basis.Secondly, this paper theoretically analysis of factors affecting the competitiveness of resource-based industries in Western area, combined with the research status and characteristics of the development of resource-based industries, this paper selects six important factors, namely the industrial concentration degree, investment in fixed assets and labor input, foreign direct investment, R&D and market factors, then analyzes the environmental regulation mechanism of indirect effects of different factors, and studies on environmental regulation compensation effect on industrial competitiveness, offsetting effect, crowding out of human capital, capital accumulation extrusion effect, FDI location selection effect, industrial agglomeration effect, effect of technological innovation, market effect, which has been clearly showed the environmental regulation mode of transmission path and effect.Thirdly, on the basis of the concept the environmental regulation and industrial competitiveness, this paper chooses the appropriate environmental regulation and measure index of resources industry competitiveness, establishes a reasonable index measurement system, respectively investigates and evaluates the level of environmental regulation and competitiveness in the western areas. The results show that:compared with high pollution emissions caused by resource-based industries form 1998 to 2012, the overall level of the environmental regulation is on the low side; resources industry competitiveness in varying degrees of decline, there is a relatively strong correlation between them; implementation of environmental regulations will profoundly affect the industrial competitiveness of resource-based industries in western areas.Fourthly, respectively from the perspective of regional and industry, this paper establishes a multi-panel regression model to further verify the actual impact of environmental regulation on the regional environmental regulation and competitiveness of the resource-based industries in western region. On the one hand, regional empirical study concluded that environmental regulation and competitiveness of resource-based industries shows irregular U-shaped trajectory change, which supports the existence of theory of "porter hypothesis" at the regional level, but the positive effect and negative effect of environmental regulation phase offset, regional environmental regulation effect on the improvement of the industrial competitiveness is not very significant; on the other hand, industry empirical concludes that linear increasing or decreasing trend between changes in environmental regulation and industrial competitiveness, not comply with the theory of u-shaped relationship, the positive effects of environmental regulation is far beyond the negative effects, and the impact strength of the positive effect is greater than the negative effect on industrial competitiveness in promoting the competitiveness of the industry. The role and impact of environmental regulation on the competitiveness of resource-based industry showing a significant difference between regions and industries.Finally, the situation of coexistence with positive and negative effects caused by the environmental regulation proves that "Porter Hypothesis" appears the precondition is that with higher human capital and technological innovation capability, even though the western regions only in some areas and sectors have these conditions, leads to the promotion of the role of environmental regulations on industrial competitiveness, but not achieved within the entire range. The pathway of environmental regulation on the industrial competitiveness is more complex, the market impact for industrial competitiveness is stronger than all the indicators, which means that industrial competitiveness does not depend on the strength of environmental regulation, but depends on the state of the combination of environmental regulation and other factors. Whether it is conducive to promoting the positive effects of environmental regulation play, the existence of such a positive effect, strongly refutes the western region, which will inevitably become the "pollution haven" hypothesis. Environmental regulation will not absolute threat and damage to resource-based industries competitiveness, but on the whole area of · relationship between the environmental regulation and competitiveness of resource-based industries is not stable.In short, although "Porter Hypothesis" has rationality, there is lack of soil in the western region, Lead to environmental regulation reversed transmission power on industrial competitiveness is not fully formed, while which does not mean relaxing environmental regulations in the western region on resource-based industries get more comparative advantage, might fall into the "resource curse" trap. Therefore, urgent task is to create conditions for the formation of environmental regulation reversed transmission mechanism. Based on pathways of environmental regulation, how to maximize the positive impact of environmental regulations to curb or reduce the negative effects of environmental regulations on industrial competitiveness, this paper put forward some suggestion from the three aspects of the environment, industry and regional, to speed up the development of resources industry chain, to close relation between upstream and downstream industries, to implement vertical integration development pattern., and to promote the industry competitiveness of ascension and realize environmental protection and regional sustainable development.