The underlying drivers of environmental pollution: the role of semi-urbanization

Assessing the impact of the driving forces on environmental pollution has a significant theoretical value for the construction of high-quality economic development. However, to our knowledge, no past study considers how semi-urbanization impacts the environment. This study provides empirical evidence on environmental pollution in China from the perspective of semi-urbanization. Also, the underlying mechanisms of semi-urbanization affecting environmental pollution are explored. The estimation results indicate that semi-urbanization shows prominent spatial agglomeration. We also observed that semi-urbanization in China can achieve a meaningful reduction of environmental pollution. Further, semi-urbanization negatively influences environmental pollution in the local region, but it contributes to environmental pollution growth in neighboring regions. In numerical terms, for every 1% rise in semi-urbanization of the province leads to a decrease in S O 2 emissions by around 0.19% locally and by around 0.30% in neighboring regions; every 1% rise in semi-urbanization of the province decrease SW emissions by around 0.28% locally and increase by around 0.29% in neighboring regions. The investigation above helps policymakers to formulate effective emission reduction policies for realizing the "win-win" situation of promoting semi-urbanization and curbing environmental pollution.