Journal of Geographical Sciences >
Spatial coupling analysis of regional economic development and environmental pollution in China
Received date: 2012-10-18
Revised date: 2012-12-27
Online published: 2013-06-15
Given the great number of studies focusing on the temporal interaction between economic and environmental subsystems, it is useful to perform a quantitative spatial assessment of these subsystems. In this paper, comprehensive assessment indicators for regional economic development and environmental pollution subsystems are constructed. Then, the degree of coupling and coordination of the regional economy-environment system is calculated for 350 prefectural units in China. It is found that the economic development and environmental pollution in most prefectural units is still at a low level of coupling and coordination. According to the coupling and coordination values, the Chinese territory can be divided into four types of area: economy-environment harmonious area, economy-environment gearing area, economy-environment rivaling area and low coupling degree of economy-environment area. Based on a structural analysis of the industrial sector in the four types of areas, there is a spatial relationship between the regional industrial sector structure and the coupling-coordination level. In the economy-environment harmonious area, the sectors of manufacturing of high-technology and high value-added products, such as communications, computer and electronic equipment, transport equipment and electrical machinery, account for a large proportion of the value of local industrial output. The industrial value of the economy-environment gearing area is concentrated on the manufacturing of machinery and equipment, and contains a few polluting sectors such as ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, chemical manufacturing and electricity generation. The economy-environment rivaling area is the type of area where polluting sectors concentrate, such as iron and steel, petrifaction, coal mining, building materials and electricity generation. In the low coupling degree of economy-environment area, its industry is concentrated on the production and processing of primary products.
MA Li, JIN Fengjun, SONG Zhouying, LIU Yi . Spatial coupling analysis of regional economic development and environmental pollution in China[J]. Journal of Geographical Sciences, 2013 , 23(3) : 525 -537 . DOI: 10.1007/s11442-013-1026-6
Chai S, Yan J P, Yang J F, 2011. Coupling and coordination degree of economic growth and environmental pollution levels in Shanxi Province. Journal of Arid Land Resources and Environment, 25(1): 130-135. (in Chinese)
Copeland B, Taylor MS, 2004. Trade, growth, and the environment. Journal of Economic Literature, 42(1): 7-71.
Cumberland JH, 1966. A regional interindustry model for analysis of development objectives. Papers and Processing of Regional Science Association, 17: 65-94.
Daly H E, 1968. On economics as a life science. Journal of Political Economy, 76(2): 392-406.
Dinda S, 2004. Environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis: A survey. Ecological Economics, 49(4): 431-455.
Grossman GM, Krueger AB, 1991. Environmental impacts of a North American trade agreement. National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper #3914. Cambridge, MA.
Huang J C, Fang C L, 2003. Analysis of coupling mechanism and rules between urbanization and eco-environment. Geographical Research, 22(2): 212-220. (in Chinese)
Jia S J, Liu Y C, Xing MJ, 2008. On coordination development of agricultural ecological environment and economy in different regions based on coupling degree model. Research of Agriculture Modernization, 29(5): 573-575. (in Chinese)
Leontief W, 1970. Environmental repercussions to the economic structure: An input-output approach. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 32: 262-271.
Li Y W, Xu Z M, Wang Y, 2005. Study on environmental Kuznets curve. China Population, Resources and Environment, 15(5): 7-14. (in Chinese)
Liao C B, 1999. Quantitative judgments and classification system for coordinated development of environment and economy: A case study of the city group in the Pearl River delta. Tropical Geography, 19(2): 175-177. (in Chinese)
Liu Y B, Li R D, Song X F, 2005a. Grey associative analysis of regional urbanization and eco-environment coupling in China. Acta Geographica Sinica, 60(2): 237-247. (in Chinese)
Liu Y B, Li R D, Song X F, 2005b. Analysis of coupling degrees of urbanization and ecological environment in China. Journal of Natural Resources, 20(1): 105-112. (in Chinese)
Liu Y B, Song X F, 2005. Coupling degree model and its forecasting model of urbanization and ecological environment. Journal of China University of Mining & Technology, 34(1): 91-96. (in Chinese)
Panayotou T, 1995. Environment degradation at different stages of economic development. In: Ahmed I, Doeleman J A (eds.). Beyond Rio: The Environmental Crisis and Sustainable Livelihoods in the Third World. London: Macmillan Press.
Solow R M, 1974. Intergenerational equity and exhaustible resources. Review of Economic Studies, 41: 29-45.
Song H L, Xue H F, Zhang Z et al., 2008. Study on coordination degree of local economy-environment system based on the coupling theory. Journal of Hebei University of Technology, 37(3): 84-89. (in Chinese)
Song X F, Liu Y B, 2005. Coupling degree model of urbanization and ecological environment and its application. Science & Technology Review, 23(5): 31-36. (in Chinese)
Stern D I, 2001. Is there an Environmental Kuznets Curve for sulfur? Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, 1(1): 162-178.
Wu Y M, Zhang Y, 2008. Analyzing coupled regional economic growth and environmental conservation in China. Resources Science, 30(1): 25-30. (in Chinese)
Wu Y M, Zhang Z H, Lang D F, 1996. The forecasting model of environment-economy coordinated degree and its application. Journal of Nanjing University (Natural Sciences), 32(3): 466-472. (in Chinese)
Xue B, Zhang Z L, Guo X J et al., 2010. A study on the coupling relationships between regional economic growth and environmental pressure: Case of Ningxia Autonomous Region. Ecology and Environmental Sciences, 19(5): 1125-1131. (in Chinese)
Zhang X D, Chi T H, 2001. Differentiating and analysis of the coordination degree between economic development and environment of provincial regions in China. Resources Science, 20(4): 506-515. (in Chinese)
Zuo Q T, Chen X, 2001. Dynamic model of coupling system for social-economy and eco-environment. Shanghai Environmental Sciences, 20(12): 592-594. (in Chinese)
/
〈 | 〉 |