AEA Papers and Proceedings
ISSN 2574-0768 (Print) | ISSN 2574-0776 (Online)
Environmental Protection or Environmental Protectionism? Evidence from Tail Pipe Emission Standards in China
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 111,
May 2021
(pp. 381–85)
Abstract
Under the stated goal of improving air quality, many cities in China restricted the import of used vehicles from other cities based on tail pipe emission standards. Using detailed data on new and used vehicle registration, we examine the impact of the policy by leveraging the staggered removal of the restriction during 2016–2018. We find that restriction removal led to a sharp increase in cross-city flow of used vehicles but had no significant impact on local air quality. Unilateral removal of the restriction could reduce new vehicle sales in home cities, but universal removal would boost new vehicle sales nationwide.Citation
Bai, Jie, Shanjun Li, Danxia Xie, and Hui Zhou. 2021. "Environmental Protection or Environmental Protectionism? Evidence from Tail Pipe Emission Standards in China." AEA Papers and Proceedings, 111: 381–85. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20211033Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- Q54 Climate; Natural Disasters and Their Management; Global Warming
- Q58 Environmental Economics: Government Policy
- O13 Economic Development: Agriculture; Natural Resources; Energy; Environment; Other Primary Products
- P28 Socialist Systems and Transitional Economies: Natural Resources; Energy; Environment
- R48 Transportation Economics: Government Pricing and Policy
- L62 Automobiles; Other Transportation Equipment; Related Parts and Equipment
- L51 Economics of Regulation