Residents’ Health Effect of Environmental Regulations in Coal-Dependent Industries: Empirical Evidence from China’s Cement Industry

Abstract

Coal-dependent industries are the economic pillar of many countries; however, their contribution to air pollution also restricts long-term economic development. While the negative effects of environmental regulations on coal-dependent industries has attracted much attention, the health effects of such regulations remains barely quantitatively studied. Our study is based on a quasi-natural experiment created by a command-and-control policy in China’s cement industry, whereby cement enterprises are forced to stop production for a specific period of time every year. This paper adopted DID methods and found that direct pollution control measures for coal-dependent industries could significantly improve residents’ health levels and that the resultant reduction in medical expenditures could save 456.8 RMB yuan per capita per year. Additionally, our mechanism analysis found that the COPP is beneficial to residents’ health in that it reduces air pollution and sewage treatment rates. This means that pollution from coal-dependent industries has a large and underestimated impact on residents’ health. Environmental regulation of the coal-dependent industry could greatly improve the health of residents.