Urbanization and haze-governance performance: Evidence from China's 248 cities

Using a panel data set of 248 Chinese cities at the prefecture level and above from 2004 to 2013, this study employs the data envelopment analysis (DEA) method based on a non-angular and non-radial directional distance function (DDF) combined with the overall technology, to measure the haze-governance performance. Furthermore, we construct a composite index based on the nighttime light (NTL) data to reflect the urbanization level, and use a spatial Durbin model (SDM) to investigate the effect and its mechanism of urbanization on the haze-governance performance. The results show a significant U-shaped curve relationship between urbanization and haze-governance performance for the samples of both the whole country and sub-regions. When urbanization exceeds a certain critical level, urbanization is conducive to the improvement of haze-governance performance. The proportion of cities exceeding the critical level in eastern China is higher than in central and western China. The mechanism analysis reveals that urbanization exerts a U-shaped influence on haze-governance performance via the effects of industrial structure, technological innovation, and human capital accumulation. In addition, as for the whole country, urbanization in neighboring regions also has a U-shaped spatial spillover effect on local haze-governance performance; however, the corresponding critical value is relatively small. In eastern China and in central and western China, urbanization in neighboring regions exhibits one-way positive and negative effects on local haze-governance performance, respectively.