Research on the Effects of Environmental Regulations on Industrial-Technological Innovation Based on Pressure Transmission

This paper investigates the transmission of pressure between the public, relevant government departments, and industrial firms through the use of formal environmental regulations. The data include formal environmental regulations issued from 2005 to 2019 in 179 cities in 27 provinces in China. The intermediary effect model and the threshold effect model are used to carry out research studies on the relationships between public-participated environmental regulations, formal environmental regulations, and industrial-technological innovations. Results indicate that: (1) Pressure is transmitted between the public, and relevant government sectors and industries. For instance, public-participated environmental regulations pressure relevant government departments to apply strong formal environmental regulations on industrial sectors. (2) Labor and capital have a positive moderating effect on the effect of formal environmental regulations on industrial-technological innovations. (3) Both public-participated and formal environmental regulations promote industrial-technological innovations. (4) There is a threshold effect in formal environmental regulations. For instance, when the intensity of public-participated environmental regulations is higher than 93, the role of formal environmental regulations in promoting industrial-technological innovation can be completely maximized.