Replication data for: Water Pollution Progress at Borders: The Role of Changes in China's Political Promotion Incentives

Principal Investigator(s): View help for Principal Investigator(s) Matthew E. Kahn; Pei Li; Daxuan Zhao

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Project Citation:

Kahn, Matthew E., Li, Pei, and Zhao, Daxuan. Replication data for: Water Pollution Progress at Borders: The Role of Changes in China’s Political Promotion Incentives. Nashville, TN: American Economic Association [publisher], 2015. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2019-10-13. https://doi.org/10.3886/E114592V1

Project Description

Summary: At political boundaries, local leaders have weak incentives to reduce polluting activity because the social costs are borne by downstream neighbors. This paper exploits a natural experiment set in China in which the central government changed the local political promotion criteria and thus incentivized local officials to reduce border pollution along specific criteria. We document evidence of pollution progress with respect to targeted criteria at province boundaries. Heavy metal pollutants, not targeted by the central government, have not decreased in concentration after the regime shift. Using data on the economic geography of key industrial water polluters, we explore possible mechanisms. (JEL D72, O13, O18, P25, P28, Q25, Q53)

Scope of Project

JEL Classification:
      D72 Political Processes: Rent-seeking, Lobbying, Elections, Legislatures, and Voting Behavior
      O13 Economic Development: Agriculture; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Other Primary Products
      O18 Economic Development: Urban, Rural, Regional, and Transportation Analysis; Housing; Infrastructure
      P25 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Urban, Rural, and Regional Economics
      P28 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Natural Resources; Energy; Environment
      Q25 Renewable Resources and Conservation: Water
      Q53 Air Pollution; Water Pollution; Noise; Hazardous Waste; Solid Waste; Recycling

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Published Versions

V1 [2019-10-13]

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