Spatial linkage analysis of the impact of regional economic activities on PM_2.5 pollution in China

Fog and haze represent the most hazardous type of weather affecting the life and health of residents in China since 2009; as a result, many policymakers and economists have focussed on this issue. This study analyses the driving factors of fog and haze in 152 cities in China from the perspective of the economic effect. Considering the spatial attributes of fog and haze alongside the regional economic association, a spatial economic weight matrix is constructed and introduced into a spatial autoregressive model to analyse the spatial diffusion effect of PM_2.5 pollution. The results show that PM_2.5 pollution has significant spatial aggregation and diffusion effects that are significantly influenced by geospatial attributes and regional economic association in China. Furthermore, the effects of economic, social, and technological factors exhibit significant differences in relation to PM_2.5 in different cities, and all of these factors present regional spillover effects. Specifically, the relationship between PM_2.5 and economic development in China is consistent with the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) hypothesis, in which different regions are located at different positions on the EKC curve due to the different situations related to economic development. As a result, the regional coordination of environmental policies and pollution-intensive industry transfer are needed to hold China's air pollution in check.