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The influence of urban haze pollution on urban shrinkage in China—an analysis of the mediating effect of the labor supply

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Abstract

Panel data of 234 cities in China from 2011 to 2018 are used to measure the urban shrinkage index. PM2.5 is used as an indicator of haze pollution, and labor supply is the mediator. On this basis, the influence mechanism of haze pollution on urban shrinkage is analyzed theoretically. Next, using the dynamic panel model and the mediating effect model, we empirically examine the impact of urban shrinkage on haze pollution and the mediating effect of labor supply. The main findings are as follows: haze pollution increases the degree of urban shrinkage. Labor supply plays a regulatory role in the process of haze pollution affecting urban shrinkage. The influence of haze pollution on labor supply is significantly negative, that is, haze pollution will result in a decline of the city labor supply. Every 1 percentage point increase in smog pollution will reduce the labor supply by 1.4585 percentage points. The effect of labor supply on urban contraction is significantly negative. According to our research, pertinent policies and suggestions are proposed to reduce both urban shrinkage and haze pollution.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the Philosophy and society project of universities in Jiangsu Province(No.2020SJA0492.

Funding

This research is sponsored by the Philosophy and society project of universities in Jiangsu Province(2020SJA0492.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Business school of Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Nanjing, 211171, China

    Xiaohong Liu

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  1. Xiaohong Liu
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Xiaohong Liu conceived the study idea and designed the research framework, wrote the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xiaohong Liu.

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Liu, X. The influence of urban haze pollution on urban shrinkage in China—an analysis of the mediating effect of the labor supply. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 63297–63304 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-15025-8

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