Evaluation and Comparison of Environmental Regulation Efficiency in China's Urban Agglomerations: A Spatial-temporal Dynamic Perspective

Abstract

Given the increasing emphasis on sustainable development, nations across the globe are working towards simultaneous regional economic development and ecological and environmental governance, which has become a shared objective. This article evaluates and compares environmental regulation efficiency using panel data from 2011 to 2021 for the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration and the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration in China. The study focuses on comparisons at the temporal and spatial dimensions. The research findings indicate that the two urban agglomerations' environmental regulation efficiency has been significantly improved. The increase of environmental regulation efficiency in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration is faster than that in the Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration. The Chengdu-Chongqing urban agglomeration shows a "high on both sides, low in the middle" spatial pattern. In contrast, the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration shows a "high in the middle, low on both sides" spatial pattern. The research findings provide policy insights for strengthening the agglomeration effect of urban agglomeration with different development levels. It also provides practical value for better and faster realization of regional equitable development.