Governmental response to public complaints about solid waste sorting in China: Evidence from quasi-natural experiments

IF 4.4 3区经济学 Q3 ENERGY & FUELS

Utilities Policy Pub Date : 2025-09-30 DOI:10.1016/j.jup.2025.102063

Li Lanlan , He Minzheng , Yang Ranran , Luo Xuan

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Mandatory Domestic Waste Classification (MDWC) is an effective strategy for alleviating the urban waste crisis. This paper integrates public online petition text data and urban panel data, employing the synthetic control method to evaluate the impact of MDWC policy on government response to Public Complaints about Solid Waste Sorting (PCSWS) from the perspective of policy pressure. By analyzing data from the Mayor's Message Boards of 11 Chinese cities between 2015 and 2022, the research results indicate that the MDWC policy significantly improved both the speed and quality of government responses to PCSWS. However, the sustainability of these effects has diminished over time. Assessing the impact of the MDWC policy on government responses to PCSWS not only enhances government responsiveness but also promotes positive interaction between the government and the public. Furthermore, enhancing governmental environmental regulation and governance capacity can play a positive role. Therefore, the government should maintain policy oversight following the policy implementation by continuously mobilizing various resources and regulatory measures to ensure policy sustainability and stability. This paper provides an empirical basis for improving the long-term regulatory mechanism of public waste sorting. It holds a significant reference value for promoting the scientific evaluation of government response capabilities in urban environmental governance.

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政府回应公众对中国固体废物分类的抱怨：来自准自然实验的证据

强制性生活垃圾分类是缓解城市垃圾危机的有效策略。本文结合公众网上信访文本数据和城市面板数据，采用综合控制方法，从政策压力的角度，评估了垃圾分类处理政策对政府回应固体废物分类投诉的影响。通过分析2015年至2022年中国11个城市的市长留言板数据，研究结果表明，MDWC政策显著提高了政府对PCSWS的响应速度和质量。然而，随着时间的推移，这些影响的可持续性已经减弱。评估委员会的政策对政府应对公共服务社会的影响，不仅能提高政府的应对能力，还能促进政府与公众的良性互动。此外，提高政府环境监管和治理能力可以发挥积极作用。因此，政府应在政策实施后保持政策监督，不断调动各种资源和监管措施，确保政策的可持续性和稳定性。本文为完善公共垃圾分类的长效监管机制提供了实证依据。对于促进城市环境治理中政府应对能力的科学评价具有重要的参考价值。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Utilities Policy ENERGY & FUELS-ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

CiteScore

6.80

自引率

10.00%

发文量

审稿时长

66 days

期刊介绍： Utilities Policy is deliberately international, interdisciplinary, and intersectoral. Articles address utility trends and issues in both developed and developing economies. Authors and reviewers come from various disciplines, including economics, political science, sociology, law, finance, accounting, management, and engineering. Areas of focus include the utility and network industries providing essential electricity, natural gas, water and wastewater, solid waste, communications, broadband, postal, and public transportation services. Utilities Policy invites submissions that apply various quantitative and qualitative methods. Contributions are welcome from both established and emerging scholars as well as accomplished practitioners. Interdisciplinary, comparative, and applied works are encouraged. Submissions to the journal should have a clear focus on governance, performance, and/or analysis of public utilities with an aim toward informing the policymaking process and providing recommendations as appropriate. Relevant topics and issues include but are not limited to industry structures and ownership, market design and dynamics, economic development, resource planning, system modeling, accounting and finance, infrastructure investment, supply and demand efficiency, strategic management and productivity, network operations and integration, supply chains, adaptation and flexibility, service-quality standards, benchmarking and metrics, benefit-cost analysis, behavior and incentives, pricing and demand response, economic and environmental regulation, regulatory performance and impact, restructuring and deregulation, and policy institutions.