Enhancing the Local Enforcement of Straw-Burning Regulation by Digital Technology: evidence From China

Open-air straw burning (OSB) is a practice prevalent in developing countries that presents substantial risks to public health. However, the prevalence of OSB in these countries is not due to the absence of regulations but the insufficient enforcement of existing regulations at the local level. This study investigates an OSB management reform in China, which aims to leverage digital technology, specifically satellites, to enhance the local enforcement of OSB regulations. We evaluate the effectiveness of this reform by exploring a unique county-level satellite-based dataset and employing a staggered difference-in-differences approach combined with the two-part model. We found that this reform led to a reduction in counties’ OSB spots by 56.50%. Furthermore, its effectiveness is higher in counties with higher fiscal expenditure-to-revenue ratios, designation as national ecological function zones, higher levels of agricultural mechanization, and livestock production. These findings underscore the importance of digital technology in OSB governance and other related environmental governance areas by enhancing transparency and information flow in the local enforcement of regulations.