Disguised pollution: Industrial activities in the dark

A-Tier
Journal: Journal of Public Economics
Year: 2023
Volume: 223
Issue: C

Authors (4)

Agarwal, Sumit (not in RePEc) Han, Yajie (not in RePEc) Qin, Yu (National University of Singapo...) Zhu, Hongjia (not in RePEc)

Score contribution per author:

1.005 = (α=2.01 / 4 authors) × 2.0x A-tier

α: calibrated so average coauthorship-adjusted count equals average raw count

Abstract

In this study we investigate disguised pollution by industrial firms in China. We find that sulfur dioxide (SO2) readings increase by 10.8% in air pollution monitoring stations four hours after sunset in high factory density areas, controlling for station-year, date, and city-hour fixed effects. Physical inspections by the Ministry of Environmental Protection may only temporarily reduce disguised pollution, suggesting that reliance on physical inspections to enforce regulations is ineffective if firms can shift production activities to non-daylight hours. We show that direct monitoring, as is done with some large polluters in China, can prevent this and should be cost-effective to extend to all industrial polluters.

Technical Details

RePEc Handle
repec:eee:pubeco:v:223:y:2023:i:c:s0047272723000865
Journal Field
Public
Author Count
4
Added to Database
2026-01-29