环境分权对水环境治理效果的影响——财政分权视角下的动态面板检验

选取2002—2015年我国30个省际面板数据,应用系统GMM估计方法,实证检验了环境分权的水环境治理效应。研究结果显示,环境分权与工业废水和生活污水排放、工业废水氨氮排放量及工业废水化学需氧量三类水污染指标呈现显著且稳定的正向关系,这意味着赋予地方政府过高的环境管理自主权将不利于改善水环境治理效果;财政分权对水环境治理效果产生负向效应,随着财政分权程度的提升,环境分权对水环境治理效果的不利影响得以强化。分组检验结果表明,中央政策干预和环境管理体制改革促使财政分权对水环境治理效果的负面作用逐渐趋于不明显,且有效削弱了财政分权对环境分权与水环境治理效果两者关系的调节效应;在东部沿海地区,环境分权可一定程度上降低水污染排放,其治理效应总体上优于中西部内陆地区,而财政分权对水环境治理效果的负向作用及其调节效应在中西部内陆地区更显著。

Effects of environmental decentralization on water environment treatment: dynamic panel tests from the perspective of fiscal decentralization

Based on the panel data of 30 provinces(municipalities and autonomous regions)in China from 2002 to 2015, the effects of environmental decentralization on water environment treatment are empirically tested by using the method of system GMM. The results show that the environmental decentralization has a significant and stable positive relationship with the three types of water pollution indices, namely, discharge of industrial and domestic wastewater(DID), ammonia nitrogen emission from industrial wastewater(HN_I), and chemical oxygen demand of industrial wastewater(COD_I). It means the excessive autonomy of local governments in environmental management is detrimental to water environmental governance. The fiscal decentralization also has a negative effect on water environment governance. With the improvement of the fiscal decentralization, the adverse impact of the environmental decentralization on the effects of water environment treatment is strengthened. The group tests reveal the negative effects of the fiscal decentralization on water environment governance are becoming less obvious due to the central policy intervention and the reform of environmental management system, and the moderating effects of the fiscal decentralization are also effectively weakened. To some extent, the environmental decentralization having better effects in the eastern areas than those in the central and western areas reduces the water pollution discharge in the eastern coastal areas. At the same time, the negative effects of the fiscal decentralization on water environment governance and its moderating effects are more significant in the central and western areas.