What the study found
Pollution transfer in the Yangtze River Delta expanded over time and formed a core-periphery network centered on Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and other core cities. The study also found that proximity factors influenced this transfer, and that public health proximity interacted with economic and institutional factors in ways the authors link to environmental health inequality.
Why the authors say this matters
The authors conclude that the findings help explain pollution transfer as a networked and interaction-driven process. They also say the results provide quantitative support for regional collaborative governance and integrated environmental and health management in the Yangtze River Delta.
What the researchers tested
The researchers used off-site environmental penalty data from large-scale enterprises from 2012 to 2023. They constructed pollution transfer networks and applied social network analysis and the geographical detector method to examine network structure, proximity mechanisms, and their interaction effects.
What worked and what didn't
The pollution transfer network continuously expanded and showed strong internal linkages and outward diffusion at the national scale. Economic proximity was the main factor for intra-regional transfers, while institutional and technological proximity were more important for extra-regional transfers. Public health proximity had limited independent explanatory power, but it strengthened pollution transfer when combined with economic and institutional factors.
What to keep in mind
The abstract does not describe specific limitations beyond noting that pollution transfer processes are hidden and proximity effects can be nonlinear. The summary is limited to the Yangtze River Delta and to the 2012–2023 period covered by the data.
Key points
- The pollution transfer network in the Yangtze River Delta expanded continuously from 2012 to 2023.
- The network showed a core-periphery structure centered on Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and other core cities.
- Economic proximity dominated intra-regional pollution transfers.
- Institutional and technological proximity played a larger role in extra-regional transfers.
- Public health proximity had little independent effect but strengthened transfer when combined with economic and institutional factors.
Disclosure
- Research title:
- Pollution transfer in the Yangtze River Delta expanded over time
- Authors:
- Feng Hu, Huijie Yang, Xiaolong Zhou, Shuang Zhao, Liping Qiu, Shaobin Wei, Xiaoping Wang, Jiahan Hu, Yufeng Chen, Hao Hu, Haiyan Zhou
- Institutions:
- Centre for International Governance Innovation, Shanghai Industrial Technology Institute, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics, Ningbo University, Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, University of Perpetual Help System DALTA, Zhejiang Normal University, Shanghai University, Nueva Ecija University of Science and Technology
- Publication date:
- 2026-02-16
- OpenAlex record:
- View
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