A holistic approach to evaluating environmental policy impact using a difference-in-differences model

IF 14 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Environmental Science and Ecotechnology Pub Date : 2025-03-01 DOI:10.1016/j.ese.2025.100523

Jianglong Cui , Tiansen Zou , Hengyuan Zhao , Xiaodie Zhang , Guowen Li , Shengwang Gao , Chunjian Lv , Qiuheng Zhu , Lieyu Zhang , Haisheng Li

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Abstract

Environmental protection policies (EPPs) play a pivotal role in advancing sustainable development and maintaining ecological balance by establishing clear directives and standards. However, a comprehensive methodology to evaluate the effectiveness of these policies remains underdeveloped. Here, we employ a difference-in-differences (DID) approach to assess the effectiveness of EPPs, using the implementation of the Resident Work (RW) policy as a quasi-natural experiment. Drawing on urban-level panel data from the Yangtze River Basin between 2016 and 2021, we demonstrate that the DID model robustly evaluates the RW policy's impact on water quality improvement. Cities that adopted the RW policy experienced a 0.0098 reduction in water pollution compared to non-adopting cities. A dynamic analysis revealed progressive water quality improvements over time, with stronger effects observed in economically disadvantaged cities. Furthermore, higher policy evaluation scores correlated with greater improvements in water quality. This study highlights the utility of the DID model in quantifying EPP effectiveness and offers a scalable framework for policy evaluation in environmental management.

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来源期刊

Environmental Science and Ecotechnology Multiple-

CiteScore

20.40

自引率

6.30%

发文量

审稿时长

18 days

期刊介绍： Environmental Science & Ecotechnology (ESE) is an international, open-access journal publishing original research in environmental science, engineering, ecotechnology, and related fields. Authors publishing in ESE can immediately, permanently, and freely share their work. They have license options and retain copyright. Published by Elsevier, ESE is co-organized by the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, Harbin Institute of Technology, and the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, under the supervision of the China Association for Science and Technology.