Heterogeneity environmental regulation and provincial haze pollution in China: an empirical study based on threshold model

The influence of environmental regulation on haze pollution is a hot issue of scholar’s attention. However, different types of environmental regulations have different effects on haze pollution. Based on PM2.5 annual mean data of 30 provinces and cities in China from 2005 to 2016, combined with the threshold effect model to test the nonlinear impact of different types of environmental regulations on haze pollution. The results show the haze pollution in China is still serious, and there are significant regional differences in the distribution of haze pollution. The heavily polluted areas are mainly concentrated in economically developed eastern regions such as Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai, while haze pollution in the central and western regions is relative light. The threshold effect of formal and informal environmental regulations on haze pollution has significant regional differences. Further, industrial structure and technological level will suppress haze pollution, while structure of energy consumption and openness will promote haze pollution. At last, according to the situation of different regions, we put forward different environmental regulation policies for provinces and cities to control the haze.