Does Anti-corruption Policy Influence Energy Efficiency in China?

Abstract

The Chinese government has stepped up its anti-corruption efforts since 2013; the National Energy Administration (NEA), an energy regulatory agency, has been hard hit by corruption. This paper analyzes the impact of government corruption on energy efficiency (EE) from a perspective of energy regulations and also a mechanism of the impact of corruption on EE, and then adopts statistical methods to estimate the impact of corruption on EE in China. The results show that government corruption generally has a negative effect on EE in China. The establishment of dispatched energy regulatory agencies in eastern China can significantly reduce the adverse effects of corruption on EE. Furthermore, a single threshold effect was found between corruption and EE. Finally, based on the results of an empirical analysis, suggestions for a constructive policy are put forward.