Re-examination And Mechanism Of The "Porter Hypothesis"

In the high-quality development stage,how to balance the relationship between environmental protection and economic growth has always been a common concern of governments,enterprises,and academia.The negative externalities caused by environmental pollution problems make it difficult for the market to adjust to the Pareto optimal state freely,which will inevitably lead to the loss of total social benefits.Therefore,environmental regulation has become an important intermediary of mitigating environmental and social benefits.But everything has a price,environmental regulation is the same.Therefore,environmental regulation is still a cost-benefit issue.As far as the government is concerned,how to design and effectively implement a reasonable environmental regulation policy so that a comfortable environment and high economic growth coexist in harmony? For enterprises,how to thrive under the dual pressure of market competition and environmental regulation? As far as academic circles are concerned,can environmental regulation promote economic growth,in other words,is the "Porter hypothesis" valid? If so,what is the black box that led to the establishment of the "Porter Hypothesis" ?This article starts from the long-controversial "Porter Hypothesis" and takes the "Plan for Dividing Acid Rain Control Areas and SO2 Pollution Control Areas" as an example;briefly reviews the verification of the "Porter Hypothesis",the measurement of environmental regulatory indicators,and the correlation of environmental policy assessment Literature;Briefly clarify the theoretical basis of environmental regulation and delineate the conceptual framework of this study;Briefly comb the historical evolution and current status of China's environmental regulation and the specific situation of the "Planning of Acid Rain Control Zone and SO2 Pollution Control Zone";compare and collate Perspectives and the mechanism of the impact of environmental regulation on economic growth under the "Porter Hypothesis";based on the "Porter Hypothesis" theory and the idea of DID method,the theoretical model of "Porter Hypothesis" is extended;using 281 places in China from 1994 to 2002 Annual data at the level of city level is constructed with a DID model to verify the causal relationship between environmental regulation and economic growth,and a variety of methods have been used for robustness testing and mechanism analysis.The study found that: First,does the "Porter Hypothesis" exist? This depends on the high cost between environmental regulation costs and environmental regulatory innovation compensation effects.The environmental regulatory innovation compensation effect is a key condition for the establishment of the "Porter Hypothesis".Second,throughout the country,the “Two Control Zone” policy has effectively reduced sulfur dioxide emissions while promoting technological innovation and progress but has inhibited industrial economic growth.The "Porter Hypothesis" has only a "weak version" effect.Third,the “Two Control Zone” policy is heterogeneous in different regions and different industries.In general,the “Two Control Zone” policy has a greater inhibitory effect on the economy than the innovation compensation effect,and the innovation compensation effect is not significant in northern cities but significant in southern cities;the “Two Control Zone” policy's economic suppression effect is not limited to municipalities and plans.Big cities and provincial capitals,but innovation compensation are still dominated by these large cities.Fourth,the mechanism of the “Two Control Zone” policy restraint effect is mainly the restriction of fixed assets and other capitals and the change from foreign direct investment to "selection".Therefore,under the new development concept,we need to firmly believe that environmental regulation is necessary.Certain enterprises,regions,and industries need to pay certain costs within a certain period after the implementation of environmental regulatory policies.However,as a whole,these costs are not as large as expected.After the backward production capacity is eliminated,the transformation and upgrading and technological innovation can be done to a large extent.To make up for the above costs.Therefore,in the period of economic transition,we must strengthen our belief in environmental regulation and recognize the costs and benefits arising from the process of environmental regulation.In the future,the focus of designing environmental regulation policies should not only focus on the effectiveness of environmental pollution control,but also on how to expand the environment.Regulatory innovation compensation efforts work hard.At the same time,the government should separate them into categories,take full account of the similarities and differences in various regions and industries,implement more precise environmental management,and not engage in "one size fits all." Government departments should seek truth from facts,adapt to local conditions,and adopt differentiated measures based on the industrial structure,economic conditions,and affordability of each city,in order to stimulate green innovation and improve corporate performance.Specifically,according to the resource and environmental carrying capacity of different regions and industries,different standards have been adopted in terms of environmental tax collection standards,pollutant discharge standards,industrial access policies,etc.,and the implementation of regional management,city-specific policies,and industry-oriented environmental policies.In addition,in terms of the strength of policy standards,we must not be blind and strict.We must review the situation,evaluate in a timely manner,and make rolling amendments so that environmental regulations can continue to exert stimulating effects.Strengthen the inter-city technology and talent linkage in various regions,economic circles,and urban circles,focus on the innovation-driven development of the surrounding cities,foster a good regional green innovation atmosphere,and ultimately achieve coordinated development of all regions,which all depend on Careful formulation of environmental policies.