Implementation effect of air pollution policy, long-term mechanism, and industrial structure promotion-a quasi-natural experiment based on ambient air quality standards

This study, set against the backdrop of new standard policies for air pollution control, investigates the role of air pollution control in driving economic transformation, upgrading, and safeguarding public welfare. Utilizing data from the prefecture-level cities from 2007 to 2016, the impact of air pollution control on per capita GDP, employment, and industrial upgrading is examined using the difference-in-differences method, and the long-term mechanism is tested. The results indicate that the new standard policy significantly improves regional per capita GDP and employment rate, and the condition identification test and robustness test show that this conclusion is very robust. Further analysis reveals that the new standard policy promotes per capita GDP and employment rate in the western region, driving regional industrial upgrading. The impact mechanism test shows that air pollution control promotes industrial upgrading and stable employment through the long-term mechanism of improving marketization, expanding the level of openness, and developing alternative industries, but there is still room for improvement in foreign investment and the development of the tertiary industry.