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How Does the “Civilized City” Selection Affect Environmental Governance Performance? A Spatial DID Approach Based on Prefecture-Level Cities

Year: 2025

Type: article

Abstract: Our study employs panel data from 272 Chinese prefecture-level cities (2003–2020), leveraging the “Civilized City” selection campaign as a quasi-natural experiment. Using a Spatial Durbin Difference-in-Differences model, we systematically analyze the policy’s impact on local environmental governance performance and its spatial spillover effects, with rigorous robustness checks. Results reveal a significant positive spatial correlation in China’s environmental governance performance, indicating interdependence among cities rather than isolated decision-making. The “Civilized City” initiative not only improves local environmental governance but also generates spillover benefits for neighboring regions, thereby enhancing coordinated regional sustainability. Finally, we propose policy recommendations grounded in empirical findings and China’s governance context.

Source: Sustainability

DOI: 10.3390/su17093812

Authors: Weixing Ou, Ruirui Yang, Wanhai You

Institutions: Changsha University of Science and Technology, Fuzhou University

Language: English

Topic: Energy, Environment, Economic Growth

Subfield: Economics and Econometrics

Field: Economics, Econometrics and Finance

Domain: Social Sciences

SDGs: Sustainable cities and communities, Peace, justice, and strong institutions

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,896