主题 Topic：Signal andPolitical Accountability: The Environmental Petitions in China
时间Time：5月6号（周五）｜ May 6th (Friday), 10:10 – 11:30 am
地点Venue：文波楼208室｜Room 208 , WENBO
主讲人Speaker：蔡璧涵，浙江大学经济学院助理教授 (College of Economics, ZhejiangUniversity), 2014年获美国加州大学尔湾分校(University of Californiaat Irvine )经济学博士学位。他的论文已发表在International Taxationand Public Finance (SSCI), Public Finance Review (SSCI)等世界知名经济期刊上。
研究领域: 公共经济学，政治经济学，应用微观经济学
Dr. Pi-Han Tsai is an assistant professor of Collegeof Economics of Zhejiang University. Dr. Tsai earns her PhD degree in Economicsat University of California at Irvine, USA, in 2014. She has publishedseveral academic papers in International Taxation and Public Finance (SSCI), PublicFinance Review (SSCI) etc.
Research Area: Public Economics,Political Economy, Applied Microeconomics
Abstract:
Byusing provincial environmental petition data, this paper finds that the numberof environmental petitions is positively associated with provincialgovernment’s investment in pollution mitigation; however, such effects do notdirectly contribute to the local greenness. The increased petitions may serveas a signal of local residents’ dissatisfaction, referring to the possibilities of the outbreak of socialunrest. The fear of demotion incentivizes provincial leaders to respond to thepublic. Since “local” provincial party secretaries (who were born or rose fromlow to high positions within the province they govern)have better network ofconnections and are better informed, the signaling effect of petitions arelessoned. Thus, compared to the locals, “nonlocal”provincial party secretaries (who made their career advancements in otherprovinces) are more accountable to the public in their province.
