HKUST Public Policy Bulletin Issue No.12

Effects of Automated Monitoring on Achieving Air Pollution Control Targets:

Evidence from China

 

Lin YANG, Yatang LIN, Jin WANG, Fangyuan PENG

 

 

Air pollution is a critical issue affecting public health and the environment worldwide. In major countries around the world, local governments are responsible for the enforcement of national environmental regulations. However, inadequate monitoring and misaligned incentives often lead to strategic responses at the local level, resulting in localized cleanup rather than citywide reductions.

 

Advanced monitoring technology has been considered as a solution to this problem. In 2014, in response to increasing public concerns about air quality, the central government of China commenced an unprecedented “war on pollution”. Air quality targets were allocated to provincial governments, and then to city governments. A nationwide, real-time, and automated monitoring system was introduced across three waves of cities, which left local governments with virtually no ability to manipulate data directly.

 

This policy bulletin introduces a study by Lin Yang, Yatang Lin, Jin Wang, and Fangyuan Peng (2024) that examines the impact of China’s automated monitoring system on achieving air pollution control targets, investigating whether technology-aided monitoring can lead to better enforcement or localized cleanup efforts.

     

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    Authors

    Lin YANG is an Assistant Professor of Urban Governance and Design at the Society Hub of Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Guangzhou). She received her Ph.D.in Applied Economics from Cornell University. Her research focuses on environmental and urban challenges in China using high-resolution and high-frequency data. Her current research covers various topics on environmental and energy regulations, urban transport systems, and climate change with a focus on developing countries.

    Yatang LIN is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the Department of Economics and Division of Public Policy at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She earned her PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her research is in the field of Urban Economics, Environmental Economics, and Development Economics. Her research focuses on the economic and environmental impacts of infrastructure and environmental and social challenges in cities.

    Jin WANG is an associate professor of Social Science at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. She earned her PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science. Her research is in the field of Development Economics, Public Economics, and Urban Economics. She worked on a variety of topics, including place-based policies, government hierarchy and incentives, labor mobility barriers inherent in China's household registration system, and local enforcement of environmental regulations.

    Fangyuan PENG is currently a postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Economics, Faculty of Business and Economics, the University of Hong Kong. She obtained her Ph.D. in Urban Governance and Design from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in 2023. Her research focuses on environmental economics, urban economics, and international trade. She specializes in using remote sensing big data and spatial analysis methods for empirical research.

     

    Further reading

    Yang, Lin, Yatang Lin, Jin Wang, and Fangyuan Peng. "Achieving Air Pollution Control Targets with Technology‑Aided Monitoring: Better Enforcement or Localized Efforts?." American Economic Journal: Economic Policy 16, no. 4 (2024): 280-315.