| Since the reform and opening up,with the rapid development of the market economy,China’s urbanization and industrialization have also made remarkable achievements.At the same time,the long-term unreasonable development mode has brought great pressure to the ecological environment,resulting in a series of environmental deterioration problems.In particular,in recent years,the problem of haze pollution is particularly prominent and has become a hot topic of public opinion and academic research.The frequent occurrence of haze weather will not only harm the physical and mental health of the public,but also hinder the sustainable development of the economy and society.Based on this,under the requirements of the CPC Central Committee’s ecological civilization construction,it is of great practical significance to explore the causes and control measures of haze pollution for winning the battle against air pollution and promoting high-quality economic development.Ecological civilization construction and environmental protection cannot be separated from the development of green transportation.As a green and efficient modern transportation mode,high-speed railway not only affects economy,structure and technology,but also plays a certain role in urban haze pollution.Therefore,in the context of large-scale construction of high-speed railway in China,it is also of great theoretical significance and practical value to explore the environmental benefits of high-speed railway development.Based on the non-balanced panel data of 286 prefecture-level cities in China from 2004 to2017,this paper examines the effects and mechanisms of high-speed railway development on urban haze pollution with the help of difference-in-difference and mediating effect models.First of all,the dummy variable of whether high-speed railway is opened or not and the number of high-speed railway stations and lines in operation in each city are used to test the effect of high-speed railway construction and development on haze pollution.Secondly,the robustness test was carried out by means of parallel trend test,eliminating key cities,changing the research period and controlling other policy impacts.Then,considering the regional characteristics and development differences of China,this paper conducts the related heterogeneity analysis.Finally,on the basis of baseline regression,the mediating effect model is used to test the indirect influence mechanism of high-speed railway development on haze pollution.The research shows that:Firstly,as a new type of transportation with low energy consumption and high cleanliness,the construction and development of high-speed railway has effectively reduced the level of urban haze pollution.To be specific,the PM2.5 concentration in the treated cities was 3.24%lower than that in the control cities.What’s more,this core conclusion remained true after multiple robustness tests.Secondly,due to the differences in geographical location,resource endowment,regional innovation and other aspects in eastern and western cities of China,the heterogeneity analysis shows that high-speed railway development has a more significant haze reduction effect on central and eastern cities,resource-based cities and cities with high innovation level.Thirdly,the mechanism test shows that the development of high-speed railway can reduce urban haze pollution by promoting the agglomeration of the service industry and improving the level of regional green technology innovation.In addition,this study also found that there is no Kuznets curve hypothesis between China’s economic development level and environmental pollution at the present stage,and the upgrading of industrial structure and population agglomeration also have significant effects on emission reduction.At last,in order to give full play to the environmental welfare effect caused by the development of high-speed railway,this paper,based on the empirical results,puts forward some policy suggestions,such as the construction of a wide range of high-speed railway transportation network,the promotion of urban industrial transformation and upgrading,and the promotion of scientific and technological progress. |
