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Article

Spatial Effect and Threshold Characteristics of China’s Iron and Steel Industrial Agglomeration on Fog-Haze Pollution

by
Jingkun Zhou
1 and
Yunkai Zhou
2,*
1
School of Business, LuDong University, 186 Hongqizhong Road, Zhifu District, Yantai 264025, China
2
Adam Smith Business School, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Atmosphere 2023, 14(2), 415; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14020415
Submission received: 24 December 2022 / Revised: 10 February 2023 / Accepted: 17 February 2023 / Published: 20 February 2023
(This article belongs to the Section Air Quality and Health)
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Abstract

:
The iron and steel industry is an important foundation of the national economy. It is the inevitable choice, to achieve high-quality development in the new era of the iron and steel industry, to speed up the green development of the iron and steel industry. This paper studies the effect of steel industry agglomeration on regional economic growth and air pollution. Through the analysis of the characteristics of iron and steel industry agglomeration, and the empirical analysis of the relationship between iron and steel industry agglomeration, regional economic growth, and air pollution, it is found that: (1) Iron and steel industry agglomeration helps to promote economic growth; (2) Iron and steel industry agglomeration has an obvious spatial correlation effect and obviously drives the development of surrounding areas; (3) Iron and steel industry agglomeration will cause air pollution. The marginal effect of air pollution will decline rapidly with the development of iron and steel industry agglomeration. (4) The impact of green process innovation investment on air pollution presents an inverted U-shaped effect, which has a positive effect on air recovery after exceeding the critical point. (5) The air self-purification capacity represented by precipitation, helps to reduce air pollution. Based on the above conclusions, this paper puts forward some policy suggestions, such as making a scientific development plan for the iron and steel industry, accelerating green process innovation, effectively improving regional precipitation and precipitation times, vigorously promoting high-quality development of the regional economy, and comprehensively promoting coordinated development of the iron and steel industry, so as to cope with the dilemma of the coordinated development of the iron and steel industry, regional economic growth, and smog pollution, and strive for international development in the future. In the competition, we should gain the first opportunity and obvious competitive advantage.

1. Introduction

Haze is a kind of blurred vision phenomenon, and it is formed by the combination of more and more particles and water vapors in the air, under the action of static and stable weather. The formation conditions of haze are: the number of particles is enough, the humidity is sufficient, and the weather is stable.

1.1. Research Background

On 23 January 2020, citizens started to stay at home during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most vehicles were parked in communities, and factories and construction sites were shut down. Gas replaced coal, firecrackers were banned, and restaurants were closed. Notwithstanding, most cities in northern China experienced heavy fog-haze pollution several times in the periods 25–28 January and 11–13 February 2020. That was mainly because heating suppliers, iron and steel, and thermal power enterprises did not suspend production in the winter. Coupled with adverse weather conditions, as well as the spatial spillover effect of the excessive agglomeration of polluting industries such as iron and steel and thermal power, the scientific transfer of iron and steel, thermal power, and other polluting enterprises has become the top priority in the control of air pollution in China. To deeply examine the impact of the development of the iron and steel industry, this paper starts with the distinctive characteristics of the iron and steel industry (or industrial agglomeration), and proceeds to research the relevant effects of industrial agglomeration on the growth of regional economies and the pollution of the atmospheric environment. Industrial agglomeration signifies the high-degree concentration of an industry in a specific geographical area, which can be basically materialized by output value, capital, and human resources. Taking three provinces in northeastern China (i.e., Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang) as examples. The iron and steel industrial agglomeration enlarges the economic scale, produces an effective external effect, boosts the agglomeration and flow of the upstream and downstream industries, effectively increases employment opportunities, and forms a local pillar industry. Noticeably, a negative external effect arises from a certain degree of agglomeration of the iron and steel industry, which reduces production profits. Simultaneously, the pressure on the environment intensifies quickly and causes high governance costs. In a way, the excessive agglomeration of the iron and steel industry contradicts market law and strangles the development of the local economy and the optimization of the environment.
This paper mainly explores five questions: (1) the impact of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration on economic growth; (2) the impact of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration on fog-haze pollution; (3) the mechanisms of impact of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration on economic growth and fog-haze pollution; (4) the policies on the coordinated development of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration, economic growth, and fog-haze pollution; and (5) the impact of green-craft innovation on the environmental effect of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration.

1.2. Literature Review

The existing scholarship on the relationship between the iron and steel industrial agglomeration, regional economic growth, and environmental pollution mainly centers on four aspects: research and review of the three-level relationship, the analysis of the mechanism of the three-level relationship as well as relevant suggestions and policies, research on the excessive agglomeration of the iron and steel industry, and the relationship between the iron and steel industry and environmental pollution.
In the first aspect, Nijhawan (1959) [1], Zhai Xing (2009) [2], Jiang Long (2010) [3], Liu Jun et al. (2010) [4] and Wang Jiqing (2017) [5] confirm that the iron and steel industrial agglomeration can effectively accelerate regional economic development. Feng Langang et al. (2014) advise adopting an ecological-economy performance evaluation system in enterprises with “high pollution, high energy-consumption and resource products”, so as to comprehensively evaluate the sustainable development of iron and steel enterprises from the perspective of ecological economic effect [6]. Guo Jing (2014) uses the location entropy index method in her analysis, concluding that China’s iron and steel industry is mainly distributed in several central provinces and the Circum-Bohai-Sea region [7]. Li Weina (2010) and Ma Wenxia (2017) observe that industrial agglomeration fosters economic development yet causes environmental pollution [8]. Zhao Li (2013) notes that industrial agglomeration and environmental pollution affect regional economic growth [9]. Fan Fengyan et al. (2020) [10] and Qiu Shuang et al. (2021) [11] analyze the coupling and coordinated development of the iron and steel industry, environment, and economy.
In the second aspect, Yan Lingzhi (2016) scrutinizes the relationship between the iron and steel industrial agglomeration and technological progress in Liaoning Province, arguing that iron and steel industrial agglomeration actualizes technological progress via knowledge spillover, the cost effect, and the competition effect, thereby promoting economic growth [12]. James et al. (2013) [13] and Liu Xiuyan (2009) [14] review the literature on industrial agglomeration and economic growth. As they state, classical spatial economics explains the contribution of industrial agglomeration to economic growth with classical location theory and the geographical concentration of economic activities. The model in new economic geography uses externalities to explain the contribution of industrial agglomeration to economic growth, yet fails to consider the spatial impact of technology and knowledge externalities. The dynamic model in new economic geography emphasizes the interaction between technological spillover and spatial agglomeration, and explains the impact of industrial agglomeration on economic growth with innovation and technological progress. Zhang Hui (2007) [15], Yu Bing et al. (2015) [16], and Li et al. (2016) [17] explain the relationship between industrial agglomeration and economic growth from the perspective of externality. Huang Juan et al. (2016) reveal that industrial agglomeration and environmental pollution form an inverted U-shaped curve relationship [18].
In the third aspect, Rui Mingjie et al. (2017) take Hebei Province as an example and explore the excessive agglomeration of the iron and steel industry. As evinced, owing to government interventions such as industrial policies, fiscal and tax policies, environmental governance, and land concessions, the excessive agglomeration of the iron and steel industry occurs in Hebei Province, which continuously increases the scale and degree of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration, yet significantly reduces the economic effect [19].
In the fourth aspect, Boxin et al. (2017) [20] find that the contributions of the iron and steel enterprises to the highest concentrations of PM2.5, SO2, and NOx in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region during winter are 14.0%, 28.7%, and 43.2%, respectively. Li Qianwen (2020) [21] states that SO2 and NOx emitted by the iron and steel industry are easy to combine with water molecules in the air to form acid rain. Liu Lei et al. (2020) [22] find that the main air pollutants produced by the iron & steel industry are mainly smoke, sulfur dioxide and nitride. Chen Lei et al. (2021) [23] confirm that the contributions of air pollutant emissions from Hebei’s iron and steel plants to the average concentrations of SO2, NOx, and PM10 in three local state-controlled stations is 20.19–33.81%, 17.49–23.46%, and 2.02–2.69%, respectively, during the COVID-19 control period, and after unsealing, the contributions are 13.43–21.01%, 11.09–20.92%, and 1.20–2.22%, respectively.
The existing literature on the influential factors that affect pollution prevention and control in the iron and steel industry, generally focuses on two aspects: green-craft innovation and air self-purification capacity.
In terms of green-craft innovation, Yin Ruiyu (2003) [24] and Kumar et al. (2015) [25] propose organizing the production of pollutants in the iron and steel industry from the source, strengthen the procedure optimization, and promote the harmful, energy-based, and recycling treatments of emissions. Zhang Chunxia et al. (2015) [26] and Huang Dao et al. (2015) [27] hold the same views. Zhao Chunli et al. (2017) suggest that the relevant authorities can accelerate the green transformation of the iron and steel industry, by issuing industrial guiding opinions, promoting green industrial transformation, implementing the emission-permission system, etc. [28]. Cheng Xiangkui (2017) [29], Wang Zhangguo (2019) [30], and Xi Junmao et al. (2017) [31] lay the emphasis on the emission of sintered flue gas pollutants in the iron and steel industry, advising improving the environmental-protection standards for sintering, and raising the environmental-protection level via the innovation on crafts. Deng Hongfeng (2008) discusses the smelting-reduction ironmaking technology [32]. Li Lijian (2008) researches the S-curve of craft and technology [33]. Masoero et al. (2010) examine the innovation of intelligent electric arc furnace technology [34]. Wei Qin (2018) studies the combined smelting model [35]. Wang Xiangling (2018) explores wastewater treatment and reuse crafts [36]. Wang Xueting (2019) shows the role of automatic control of a green craft in environmental protection in the iron and steel industry [37]. Gao Shimin (2022) analyzes the effect of craft process innovation on reducing environmental pollution in the iron and steel industry [38]. As the existing literature demonstrates, scholars concentrate on the innovation of specific green crafts and technologies, unveiling how the optimization and management of production procedures in the iron and steel industry enhance the control of environmental pollution.
In terms of air self-purification capacity, Zhao Xifang et al. (2001) [39], Wang Yanqiu et al. (2007) [40], Zou Changwei et al. (2017) [41], and Han Lihui et al. (2017) [42] reveal that air self-purification capacity, represented by precipitation, has a strong purification effect on atmospheric pollution. Besides, in the types of pollution products, the clearance efficiency of precipitation for water-soluble atmospheric particulate matter proves to be higher than gaseous pollutants, and marginal utility decreases progressively in the case of several-day continuous precipitation. Gilbertson et al. (1997) [43], Zhang Wenyi et al. (2006) [44], and Duan Wenjiao et al. (2018) [45] base their research on the iron and steel industry in developed regions, demonstrating that the development of the iron and steel industry causes heavy air pollution to the surrounding regions, and that air pollutants mostly include sulfur dioxide and PM2.5.
Presently, China’s industrial system features a large scale, comprehensive type, and great strength; therefore, the industrial agglomeration in China differs enormously from that in other countries. As the review of relevant domestic literature indicates, among the three-level relationship of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration, regional economic growth, and environmental pollution, the view that industrial agglomeration advances economic growth yet causes environmental pollution is widely acknowledged. In particular, the excessive agglomeration of the iron and steel industry makes limited contributions to economic growth, and has a greater impact on environmental pollution. In the mechanism that affects the three-level relationship, technological progress related to externality, knowledge spillover, the cost effect, and the competition effect constitute the main reasons for economic growth. The relationship between industrial agglomeration and environmental pollution forms an inverted U-shaped curve. Scientific and technological progress, represented by green-craft innovation, plays an important role in the relationship between industrial agglomeration and environmental pollution, because innovation capability affects the inflexion point of environmental pollution. Air self-purification capacity also plays a significant role in reducing the environmental pollution. To sum up, this paper takes the iron and steel industry as a research object, and comprehensively analyzes the correlation among industrial agglomeration, regional economic growth, and fog-haze pollution, as well as the causes and mechanisms

2. The Analysis of the Characteristics and Causes of the Iron and Steel Industrial Agglomeration in China

2.1. The Characteristics of the Iron and Steel Industrial Agglomeration in China

In China, the iron and steel industry is densely distributed in the northeastern and central regions. To better analyze the agglomeration characteristic of China’s iron and steel industry, this paper chooses location entropy as the evaluation standard, on the basis of the existing scholarship. The expression for location entropy is: LQij = (qij/qj)/(qi/q). Specifically, LQ stands for location entropy, and q stands for relevant indexes of corresponding regional industry. In general, a higher value of LQ means a higher level of industrial agglomeration in a region. When LQ is higher than 1, the industry in the corresponding region embodies advantages nationwide; when LQ is lower than 1, the industry in the corresponding region embodies disadvantages nationwide. In the research, this paper designs a location entropy index map of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration, at an interval of six years, as shown in Figure 1. As the results confirm, there is a prominent trend at the interval of samples. In the Circum-Bohai-Sea region, and several central provinces, the location entropy index shows the advantages of the industrial agglomeration; yet, in the western region and other provinces, the advantages of the iron and steel industry disappear. This is mainly affected by regional economic policy and industrial layout.
This paper collects the regional output value of the iron and steel industry and the industrial output value of various provinces, from 2000 to 2018 (data source: National Bureau of Statistics), calculates the yearly location entropy of various provinces, and obtains statistical data, as shown in Table 1. In order to complete the action target of air pollution control, a large number of air pollution enterprises in China were shut down and limited in 2017. Fortunately, iron and steel enterprises with a large scale had more production restrictions in 2017, and the number of air pollution enterprises shut down was much less than that of thermal power and other industries. Considering the influence of various factors, this paper chose the research range from 2000 to 2018. For each province, this paper conducts a t-test. In the original assumption, the location entropy is 1; in the alternative assumption, the location entropy is higher or lower than 1. According to the calculation results, at the significance level of 0.05, there are nine provinces whose location entropy proves significantly higher than 1, i.e., Hebei, Tianjin, Shanxi, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia, Gansu, Jiangsu, Hubei, and Guizhou. There are 14 provinces whose location entropy proves significantly lower than 1, i.e., Heilongjiang, Guangdong, Sha’anxi, Hainan, Tibet, Zhejiang, Chongqing, Fujian, Henan, Ningxia, Jilin, Shandong, Hunan, and Xinjiang. Notably, the iron and steel industrial agglomeration accords with regional and resource strengths. In addition to Circum-Bohai-Sea economic belt, and some provinces and cities in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, industrial agglomeration dots provinces with rich resources. The data of this article are from the China Iron and Steel Statistical Yearbook, China Environmental Statistical Yearbook, China Industrial Statistical Yearbook of Provinces and cities, and EPS global statistical data and analysis platform. PM2.5 data are from the PM2.5 concentration data of Columbia University.

2.2. The Problems and Main Causes of the Iron and Steel Industrial Agglomeration

As the market-oriented economy continuously develops, and governmental regulation and control gradually deepens, some problems are exposed in the iron and steel industrial agglomeration. To be specific, the problems include excess production capacity, environmental pollution, the unclear effect of green-craft innovation on the environmental effect of the iron and steel industry, the mismatch between the iron and steel industrial agglomeration and precipitation, and the decline in profitability.
Firstly, excess production capacity. Evidently, the iron and steel industrial agglomeration in China features large-scale yet weak competitiveness, as well as a low proportion of products with high added value. After industrial agglomeration takes initial shape, the government steps up efforts to support industrial-agglomeration regions and boost the development of the iron and steel industry via policies on finance, tax, and land. This triggers the leaps-and-bounds development of iron and steel enterprises, and upstream and downstream industries. When overall demand falters or declines, relative excess production capacity will occur. Additionally, the contradiction between the supply and demand of basic products and high-added-value products in China’s iron and steel industry intensifies. The supply of low-added-value basic products remains large, yet the demand remains relatively weak, whilst the supply of high-added-value products proves small, yet the demand proves relatively strong. This tallies with the short-time development of China’s iron and steel industry, as well as the lack of the transfer of externality and knowledge spillover to high-added-value products, from which the supply–demand difference arises.
Secondly, environmental pollution. The upstream and downstream sectors of the iron and steel industry mainly involve mining, manufacturing, construction, chemical and other industries, which cause high energy consumption and produce industrial exhaust emissions like smoke, sulfur dioxide, and carbon dioxide. This certainly undermines the local ecological environment. Featuring spatial dependence, environmental pollution has a continuous, stable, and irreversible negative impact on the surrounding environment via atmospheric transmission. As a result, the iron and steel industrial agglomeration gives rise to the distinct fog-haze pollution effect.
Thirdly, the unclear effect of green-craft innovation on the environmental effect of the iron and steel industry. In recent years, major iron and steel enterprises have attached more importance to the innovation of technologies and crafts, and achieved significant breakthroughs by optimizing procedures and upgrading the R&D level. However, as the status quo suggests, the deep integration of academic research and production management remains in the early stage, and enterprises seldom adopt the innovation of green craft in their production. Presently, green crafts are unsatisfactorily used in pollutant treatment and environmental protection, which necessitates more efforts to be taken in the next-stage of economic development.
Fourthly, the mismatch between the iron and steel industrial agglomeration and air self-purification capacity (e.g., precipitation). Now, the iron and steel industrial agglomeration is basically grounded in the advantages of the regional location, resources, and logistics, irrespective of air self-purification capacity (e.g., precipitation) in the industrial agglomeration, and upstream and downstream industrial development. This aggravates regional environmental pollution and imposes an ever-growing pressure on environmental protection.
Fifthly, the decline in profitability. After the subprime crisis, the supply–demand contradiction in the iron and steel industry intensified under the impact of shrinking foreign trade and sluggish domestic demand. This further lowered product prices and limited the profitability space of the iron and steel industry. According to classical economic theories, when the demand curve moves to the left, the demand and supply curves will reach an equilibrium, in terms of less output and lower prices. Simultaneously, the difference between fixed costs and variable costs in production theory further narrows down the profitability space of the industry, making a part of production capacity passively cleared and promoting the optimization and development of the industry. In the process, however, with room for policy-implementation, the protection of backward production capacity via policy, subsidy, credit and other measures, will impede industrial development.
As analyzed above, in China, the iron and steel industrial agglomeration hinges on governmental support, pressure from industrial competition, and dependence on the environmental pollution of air. This complicates the relationship between the iron and steel industrial agglomeration, regional economic growth, and fog-haze pollution.

3. The Analysis of the Mechanism That Affects the Relationship between Industrial Agglomeration, Economic Growth, and Fog-Haze Pollution

As a matter of fact, the relationship between industrial agglomeration, economic growth, and fog-haze pollution constitutes a very complex dynamic social system, which comprises three main elements, i.e., the iron and steel industry, the macro-economy, and the ecological environment (Figure 2). The formation and development of the system rest on multiple internal and external restrictions such as positive feedbacks and negative feedbacks. This paper further analyzes the three-level relationship and formation mechanism with dynamic system theory.
Firstly, the formation of the system undergoes three stages. The first stage is characterized by industrial agglomeration. One factor, or multiple factors, e.g., regional-resource advantage, location advantage, transportation-cost advantage, and increasing-returns-to-scale advantage, breed the early form of industrial agglomeration. In the first stage, owing to the contribution of scale economies, the local economy grows significantly. However, innovation in green science and technology lags behind and manifests itself in the pollution of the ecological environment. The second stage is characterized by governmental intervention. Under the modern governance system of China, local governments, who pursue goal orientation, often intervene by means of finance, taxation, and employment to achieve various goals of stabilizing employment, developing the economy, and improving taxation. In the second stage, the marginal utility of economic growth and ecological-environment pollution weakens, the investment in green-craft innovation increases, and environmental governance achieves initial results. The third stage is characterized by the positive feedback loop of the first and second stages, the rise of the industrial-agglomeration level and the deepening of governmental intervention. In the third stage, the contribution of industrial agglomeration to the regional economy jumps significantly, which has a greater impact on industrial development. Under such circumstances, government intervention and continuous industrial agglomeration play a vital role in maintaining economic scale and hedging against the impact of an economic downturn on society. In most cases, the third stage sees excessive agglomeration, which causes the negative marginal utility of economic growth. Yet, industrial agglomeration starts to feed back into the regional ecological environment, by increasing the investment in green-craft innovation and reducing the pollution of the ecological environment.
Secondly, the main endogenous power of the dynamic system covers two aspects. The first aspect is the relationship between industrial agglomeration, economic growth, and fog-haze pollution. In the occurrence and evolution of industrial agglomeration, industrial agglomeration, per se, expedites economic growth via upstream and downstream enterprise chains, employment, and other means. Meanwhile, the production process of enterprises, and the life of employees, result in fog-haze pollution. The second aspect is the relationship between economic growth and industrial agglomeration. To achieve economic growth, both governments and enterprises prop up industrial agglomeration that has taken shape or formed large-scale, so as to deepen the development of industrial agglomeration.
Thirdly, the main external condition for the dynamic system covers two aspects. The first aspect is the relationship between fog-haze pollution and industrial agglomeration. No matter whether in regional governmental management or in corporate environmental cost, environmental protection and fog-haze pollution form major management costs for enterprises, especially those who engage in the iron and steel industry, with high pollution and high energy consumption. As the philosophy of high-quality development prevails, both governments and enterprises will adjust industrial agglomeration, make innovations on green craft, and optimize the industrial structure to improve environmental protection, mitigate environmental pollution, and reshape the relationship between industrial agglomeration and environmental protection. The second aspect is the relationship between fog-haze pollution and economic growth. The philosophy of high-quality development receives widespread attention. As it advocates, economic development does not necessarily mean excessive environmental costs. Therefore, how to improve the quality of regional development, and how to achieve the coordinated development of industrial agglomeration, economic growth, and environmental protection become hot topics among enterprises, governments, and citizens. To this end, how governments establish and implement evaluation systems and regional environmental-protection policies plays a decisive role.
Lastly, in terms of the final state of the dynamic system, this paper comes to the conclusion that industrial agglomeration, economic growth, and fog-haze pollution can eventually reach a stable state. Essentially, the stable state signifies firstly, industrial agglomeration supports economic growth and regional employment; secondly, technological innovation driven by industrial agglomeration effectively actualizes environmental protection and optimizes the local ecological environment; and thirdly, economic growth provides ample growth opportunities and appropriate employment opportunities for the industrial agglomeration.

4. The Empirical Research on the Spatial Effect of China’s Iron and Steel Industrial Agglomeration on Regional Economic Growth and Fog-Haze Pollution

4.1. Research Methodology and Hypotheses

To deeply analyze the relationship between the iron and steel industrial agglomeration, regional economic growth, and fog-haze pollution in China, this paper constructs a three-level research framework. This paper first investigates the relationship between iron and steel industrial agglomeration and economic growth, aiming to determine whether iron and steel industrial agglomeration accelerates regional economic growth. Then, this paper scrutinizes the spatial effect of industrial agglomeration, hoping to determine whether industrial agglomeration expands and boosts the development of the iron and steel industry in the surrounding regions. Additionally, this paper affirms the role of economic growth in promoting industrial agglomeration, so as to verify their relationship as discussed in the endogenous power of the mechanism analysis. This paper proceeds to probe into the relationship between industrial agglomeration and fog-haze pollution. In this way, this paper roughly determines whether industrial agglomeration embodies the law of diminishing marginal utility of fog-haze pollution, and whether industrial agglomeration has an inverted U-shaped effect on fog-haze pollution.
Accordingly, this paper proposes four hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1.
The iron and steel industrial agglomeration helps to promote economic growth.
Hypothesis 2.
The iron and steel industrial agglomeration has an obvious air-related effect.
Hypothesis 3.
The iron and steel industrial agglomeration embodies the law of diminishing marginal utility of air pollution.
Hypothesis 4.
As the iron and steel industrial agglomeration deepens, the investment in green-craft innovation has an inverted U-shaped effect on air pollution.

4.2. The Research on the Relationship between Industrial Agglomeration and Economic Growth

This paper takes various provinces in China as the research object, 2000–2018 as the research time interval, GDP growth rate as a dependent variable, the location entropy of industrial agglomeration as an independent variable, and fixed-asset-investment growth rate, and import and export growth rates, as control variables, to construct a panel regression model and research the relationship between industrial agglomeration and economic growth.
To verify whether the relationship between industrial agglomeration and economic growth remains stable for a long time, this paper first conducts a unit root test and cointegration test of panel data, as shown in Table 2 As the calculation results suggest, the panel data of the dependent variable and independent variable can reject the original hypothesis at the significance level of 0.05. This testifies to the long-term stable relationship between industrial agglomeration and economic growth, and accords with relevant requirements for panel regression.
According to the calculation results of the panel regression (Table 3), the industrial agglomeration has a significant positive impact on economic growth. As location entropy measures the professionalization degree of the iron and steel industry in a region, the result evinces that in the Chinese regional economy, a higher degree of iron and steel industrial agglomeration means a higher economic growth rate.

4.3. The Research on the Spatial Effect of Industrial Agglomeration

This paper takes various provinces in China as a research object, 2000–2018 as the research time interval, and the location entropy of industrial agglomeration as a dependent variable. Simultaneously, it constructs a spatial weight matrix with the adjacency matrix of various provinces, and a spatial autoregression error regression model (with GDP growth rate as a control variable). The calculation results are shown in Table 4.
As the LM test results suggest, be it the spatial autocorrelation effect or spatial error correlation effect of industrial agglomeration, both reject the original hypothesis at the significance level of 0.05. This demonstrates the spatial correlation of the industrial agglomeration effect and meets the conditions for the spatial autoregression error regression model.
As the calculation results suggest, the autocorrelation and error effects of spatial agglomeration prove positive, and remain significant at the level of 0.05. The result means that the iron and steel industrial agglomeration has an obvious spillover effect, and that a region with a developed iron and steel industry has a pulling effect on the surrounding regions. As the calculation results of the GDP growth rate suggest, economic growth has a positive impact on the iron and steel industrial agglomeration. Notably, the regression results in Table 4, the impact of economic growth on industrial agglomeration differs from the inverse (i.e., the impact of industrial agglomeration on economic growth) in terms of order of magnitude. This indicates that the impact of industrial agglomeration on economic growth proves more prominent, in regard to the impact or effect, in the short term at least. Contrariwise, the impact of economic growth on industrial agglomeration proves insignificant, or requires long-term accumulation.

4.4. The Research on the Relationship between Industrial Agglomeration and Fog-Haze Pollution

This paper takes various provinces in China as a research object, 2000–2018 as the research time interval, per capita fog-haze density and geographical fog-haze density as dependent variables, the location entropy of industrial agglomeration, the investment to green-craft innovation, and precipitation as independent variables, and GDP growth rate, fixed-asset-investment growth rate, and population density as control variables, to construct a panel regression equation and research the relationship between industrial agglomeration and fog-haze pollution. Specifically, per capita, fog-haze density is measured by the ratio of the average PM2.5 index (ug/m3) of various provinces to the number of permanent residents, and geographical fog-haze density is measured by the ratio of the average PM2.5 index (ug/m3) of various provinces to the areas of those provinces. Per capita, fog-haze density and geographical fog-haze density are mainly used to measure the degree of fog-haze pollution. The investment in green-craft innovation is measured by the sum of R&D expenditure and technological-transformation expenditure of industrial enterprises in various provinces, whose logarithmic value is included in the panel regression equation. The logarithmic value of precipitation is also included in the panel regression equation.
To verify whether the relationship between industrial agglomeration and air pollution remains stable for a long time, this paper first conducts a unit root test and cointegration test of the panel data, as shown in Table 5, Table 6 and Table 7. As the calculation results suggest, the panel data of dependent variables and independent variables reject the original hypothesis at the significance level of 0.05. This testifies to the long-term stable relationship between industrial agglomeration and air pollution, and accords with relevant requirements for panel regression.
According to the regression coefficient of industrial agglomeration, the correlation between the location entropy of industrial agglomeration and fog-haze density proves positive. This indicates that in the Chinese regional economy, a higher degree of iron and steel industrial agglomeration means more serious air pollution in the corresponding region. As the estimated results of precipitation and fog-haze density suggest, the correlation between precipitation and fog-haze density proves negative. In other words, more precipitation signals a lower fog-haze density, indicating that natural atmospheric cleaning can alleviate environmental pollution.
As the results suggest, the estimated coefficient of investment to green-craft innovation proves positive, which indicates that green-craft innovation now has a positive impact on air pollution. To deeply analyze the reasons, this paper calculates the regression results of the quadratic term. As the calculation results suggest, per capita fog-haze density and the investment in green-craft innovation present an inverted U-shaped relationship. Prior to the latter reaching the critical point, it has a positive impact on per capita fog-haze density. It is not until the arrival of the critical point that the investment in green-craft innovation curbs the per capita fog-haze density.
To deeply analyze the relationship between industrial agglomeration and environmental pollution, this paper divides industrial agglomeration into multiple stages, and studies the threshold effect of industrial agglomeration and air pollution. For per capita fog-haze density and geographical fog-haze density, this paper calculates corresponding threshold values of industrial agglomeration, as shown in Table 8.
This paper calculates the results of the threshold-panel regression model, as shown in Table 9. As the calculation results suggest, the iron and steel industrial agglomeration creeps up, and the impact of the iron and steel industry on air pollution abates remarkably. This means a higher level of industrial agglomeration produces an immediate diminishing effect on the marginal utility of air pollution.

5. Results Analysis

The empirical analysis discussed above underpins that the research results in this paper basically tally with the analysis of the mechanism. This paper draws conclusions at five levels.

5.1. The Iron and Steel Industrial Agglomeration Boosts Regional Economic Growth

Firstly, the iron and steel industrial agglomeration accelerates regional economic growth. As the basic industry of the national economy, the iron and steel industry features a large economic scale, high capital consumption, an extensive industrial chain, and a substantial number of employees. The development of the iron and steel industry not only effectively enlarges local employment and facilitates the development of local upstream and downstream industries, but also quickly expands the scale of local investment and financing and produces significant economic growth effects.
Secondly, the iron and steel industrial agglomeration promotes the economic growth of the neighboring regions. Apparently, the iron and steel industry plays a driving role in regional development, because it involves extensive upstream and downstream industries. To be specific, there are directly-related upstream and downstream industries such as mining, construction, manufacturing, and the chemical industry, as well as service industries such as logistics and finance. Affected by local economic layout, these industries will be deployed and developed in the form of industrial agglomeration in the surrounding regions. In this way, the iron and steel industrial agglomeration can effectually foster the economic growth of the neighboring regions.

5.2. The Iron and Steel Industrial Agglomeration Causes Air Pollution, Yet Its Marginal Utility Falls Rapidly with Higher Levels of Industrial Agglomeration

Firstly, the iron and steel industrial agglomeration has an obvious air-related effect, with a significant impact on the surrounding regions. The iron and steel industry is a highly polluting industry. With the production process come air-pollution sources, such as PM10 and PM2.5, which pollute the surrounding environment, PM10 and PM2.5 in particular. Owing to the mobility of the atmosphere per se, fog-haze pollution affects the air quality in the surrounding regions.
Secondly, the iron and steel industrial agglomeration causes air pollution, yet its marginal utility declines rapidly with a higher level of industrial agglomeration. According to the results of the empirical research in this paper, with the rise of the location entropy of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration, the estimated coefficients of both per capita fog-haze density and geographical fog-haze density decrease swiftly. The reason is that as the level of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration is raised, craft innovation and procedure management are gradually standardized and optimized. This significantly ameliorates the deterioration of environmental pollution that arises from the production process, and hedges against the marginal utility of fog-haze pollution.

5.3. Green-Craft Innovation Helps to Reduce Fog-Haze Pollution

The investment in green-craft innovation has an inverted U-shaped impact on air pollution and has a positive effect on air recovery after reaching the critical point. According to the results of the empirical calculations in this paper, in the regressions of the investment in green-craft innovation and fog-haze pollution, the first-term-estimated coefficient proves positive, and the second-term-estimated coefficient proves negative. This implies that as the investment in green-craft innovation grows from zero to the inflexion point, more investment means a higher level of pollution. In this stage, with the expansion of the production scale, the overall level of pollution increases, albeit the investment in green-craft innovation reduces the marginal pollution, driven by unit scale. After reaching the inflexion point, with more investment in green-craft innovation, green production of the iron and steel industry, that relies on technological innovation and procedure optimization, can effectively reduce the fog-haze pollution effect.

5.4. Precipitation Helps to Purge Fog-Haze Pollutants

The natural circulation of air represented by precipitation, proves conducive to cleaning up fog-haze pollutants. Grounded in the precipitation process in nature, the self-purification mechanism of air represented by precipitation cleanses fog-haze pollution. According to the calculation results of this paper, the estimated coefficient of precipitation and fog-haze pollution proves negative, confirming that precipitation helps to remove fog-haze pollutants.

6. Suggestions on Policies

This paper conducts a theoretical analysis and empirical research. As revealed, in terms of the three-level relationship, the iron and steel industrial agglomeration means the approach, economic growth means the goal, and fog-haze-pollution prevention means the bottom line. To achieve their coordinated development, relevant parties need to adhere to the central task of high-quality development, combine the pursuit of economic effects with the realization of environmental protection, focus on the deepened development of the iron and steel industry, and view economic development in a long-term perspective. This paper proposes the model of green, innovation-driven, coordinated, and integrated industrial development, in order to achieve the coordinated development of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration, economic growth, and fog-haze pollution prevention.

6.1. Scientifically Making Plans for the Development of the Iron and Steel Industry

Firstly, in combination with regional economic development, relevant parties should formulate development plans for the iron and steel industry in a scientific, reasonable and orderly way, avert disorderly development and blind expansion, uphold the philosophy of high-quality development and green development, and establish the development goals of scale development and green-craft innovation in the iron and steel industry. Secondly, relevant parties should scientifically release supporting policies for the iron and steel industry, work out development policies for the upstream and downstream industries based on the iron and steel industry, support and help the introduction of the development and management of the upstream and downstream industries, spur the demand for the iron and steel industry, and lay a more solid foundation for the development of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration in the future. Thirdly, relevant parties should strengthen the scientific research, including the self-purification capacity of the atmospheric environment (e.g., regional precipitation), into the development plan of the iron and steel industry, gradually improve the self-purification capacity of the regional environment, and reduce the environmental pressure on the iron and steel industry via green areas, water-source management, sponge-city construction, and other measures.

6.2. Accelerating Green-Craft Innovation

Owing to the particularity of the production procedure, craft and technology, and transportation mode, the iron and steel industry applies higher pressure to the ecological environment compared with other industries. Therefore, it is an urgent task to promote energy conservation and emission reductions in the industry, and to achieve green development. In practice, enterprises can take such measures as addressing both problems and root causes and recycling their waste. On the one hand, or for the first measure, traditionally, emission policies are rigidly implemented, which easily causes conflicts and the marginal utility of the policies. In the future, enterprises may consider electric furnace steelmaking, a process with a good effect on energy conservation and emission reductions, so as to fundamentally solve the pollution problem. On the other hand, waste gas, waste water, and the industrial residue generated in iron and steel production, can be recycled and made into marketable products by external investment, technological transformation, industrial upgrading, and craft innovation. This not only improves the enterprise’s benefits and profits, but also reduces environmental pollution. For example, Shougang Group has processed iron and steel tail gas into high-protein feed.
With innovation-driven development, relevant parties strive to solve the positive and negative feedbacks arising from the iron and steel industrial agglomeration. By making innovations in the industrial-organization structure, improving human resource quality, and upgrading and optimizing its marketing models, the iron and steel industry can continuously reform business models and raise the market share of high-quality and high-tech products, in line with the requirements of high-quality development, and the basis of the bottom line of environmental protection. Technological innovation promotes the development of enterprises and reshapes a new landscape of differentiated competition among the industry and enterprises, thus furthering the healthy development of the industry.

6.3. Taking Multiple Measures to Effectively Increase Regional Precipitation and Precipitation Frequency

Firstly, relevant parties should establish and improve the management system of regional air self-purification capacity, and organize action teams in charge of regional air self-purification capacity, led by environmental-protection departments and supported by meteorological, financial, and municipal departments, so as to strengthen the management and evaluation of regional air self-purification capacity. Secondly, relevant parties should scientifically enlarge the area of constructed wetlands in regions with weak air self-purification capacity, and gradually improve the precipitation conditions. Thirdly, relevant parties should learn from developed countries and regions, introduce advanced technological means (e.g., artificial precipitation) and natural-environment-detection mechanisms, reasonably arrange the frequency and amount of artificial precipitation via big data operation, and improve the low air self-purification capacity in some regions. Fourthly, relevant parties should reinforce vegetation construction, urban greening, and water-source management, regulate and manage the water-vapor degree in the air, and effectively raise the regional precipitation amount and frequency via natural evaporation, vegetation, and greening management.

6.4. Vigorously Promoting the High-Quality Development of Regional Economy

Firstly, relevant parties should change the idea of development. The high-quality development of the regional economy signifies the coordinated development of environmental protection and the economy. In the formulation of the development strategy, relevant parties should develop an economy on the premise of minimizing environmental pollution. Therefore, they should improve production modes, and pursue the balance and maximization of economic and ecological benefits. Secondly, relevant parties should accelerate the optimization of industrial structure with the reform of industrial structure, increase the proportion of the service industry for the iron and steel industrial agglomeration, advance economic development, enhance the employment level via the development and output of the service industry, and avoid environmental pollution. Thirdly, relevant parties should ameliorate the coordinated development of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration, economic growth and fog-haze-pollution prevention, determine leading departments for the work, allocate special resources for coordinated development, incorporate the coordinated development into the performance evaluation of local Party and government leaders, and take concerted efforts among multiple parties.

6.5. Comprehensively Boosting the Coordinated Development of the Iron and Steel Industry

To accelerate the healthy development of the iron and steel industry, relevant parties should take into account the upstream and downstream industries. By stimulating and guiding the supply and demand in the upstream and downstream industries, the iron and steel industry adjusts its business structure, gradually reduces the production scale of products with high pollution and low added-value, and increases the production scale of products with low pollution and high added-value, in alignment with the requirements of high-quality economic development at the supply–demand level, so as to fundamentally alter the agglomeration pattern of the iron and steel industry, elevate the deep integration and development of high-end equipment manufacturing industry, and realize the upgrading and development of the whole industrial chain.
Globally, intelligent manufacturing, represented by Industry 4.0, is developing rapidly. Under such a background, the iron and steel industry should seize the opportunity and complete the transformation to intelligent manufacturing in an orderly way, and vie for the advantageous position in the new-round economic cycle. As advocated, enterprises should combine software with hardware and deepen the integration of automated production lines, automated logistic lines, and automated sales lines, via the extensive use of IoT technology and production robots, in order to deeply change the traditional production–supply–marketing model in the new era, and improve the efficiency of the intelligent manufacturing systems of iron and steel enterprises. Simultaneously, enterprises can use big data to optimize the traditional production–marketing model and forge international competitive advantages in the future.

7. Conclusions and Prospects

To thoroughly research the relevant impact of the development of the iron and steel industry, this paper emphasizes the distinctive characteristics of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration, and discloses the relevant effects of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration on regional economic growth and atmospheric environmental pollution. By analyzing the characteristics of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration, and the relationship between the iron and steel industrial agglomeration, regional economic growth, and fog-haze pollution with empirical evidence, this paper exposes: firstly, the iron and steel industrial agglomeration helps to promote economic growth; secondly, the iron and steel industrial agglomeration has an obvious air-related effect and a driving effect on the development of the surrounding regions; and thirdly, the iron and steel industrial agglomeration causes air pollution, yet the marginal utility of air pollution declines rapidly with the rapid development of industrial agglomeration. The investment in green-craft innovation has an inverted U-shaped impact on air pollution. After reaching the critical point, green-craft innovation has a positive effect on air recovery, and air self-purification typified by precipitation helps to reduce air pollution. Based on the above-stated conclusions, this paper proposes to deepen the development of the iron and steel industry from the perspectives of the development plan of the iron and steel industry, green-craft innovation, high-quality economic development, environmental self-purification capacity, and industrial coordination and integration. In this way, enterprises can extricate themselves from their predicament, grasp opportunities in international competition, obtain competitive advantages in the future, and achieve the coordinated development of the iron and steel industry, regional economic growth, and fog-haze pollution prevention.
In the research, this paper first analyzes the characteristics and problems of the iron and steel industrial agglomeration in China, and insightfully clarifies the causes and mechanism of the relationship between the iron and steel industrial agglomeration, economic growth, and fog-haze pollution. Therefore, this paper mainly adopts dynamic system theory. Logically, this paper bases itself on qualitative analysis, albeit the empirical analysis basically evinces the main process and conclusion of the qualitative analysis. To elaborate on the analysis process of dynamic system theory, this paper proposes to use game theory as a research tool in future research, conduct a theoretical analysis of the three-level relationship via mathematical models, and deduce it with digital and theoretical methods. If necessary, Monte Carlo simulation methods can be used. Simulation calculations prove useful in making theoretical deductions, and simulations may demonstrate the relationship between industrial agglomeration, economic growth, and fog-haze pollution for various regions and enterprises, with deeper theoretical analysis.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, J.Z. and Y.Z.; methodology, J.Z.; software, J.Z.; validation, Y.Z. and J.Z.; formal analysis, Y.Z.; investigation, Y.Z.; resources, Y.Z.; data curation, J.Z.; writing—original draft preparation, J.Z.; writing—review and editing, Y.Z.; visualization, J.Z.; supervision, Y.Z.; project administration, Y.Z.; funding acquisition, J.Z. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by The National Social Science Fund of China. The fund title is Research on gradient transfer and realization path of air pollution industry carrying capacity based on environmental self-cleaning capacity. The funding number is 20BGL193. (20BGL193).

Data Availability Statement

The data of this article are from the China Iron and Steel Statistical Yearbook (https://www.tongjinianjian.com/, accessed on 23 December 2022), China Environmental Statistical Yearbook (https://www.tongjinianjian.com/, accessed on 23 December 2022), China Industrial Statistical Yearbook of Provinces and cities (https://www.tongjinianjian.com/, accessed on 23 December 2022), and EPS global statistical data and analysis platform (https://www.epsnet.com.cn/, accessed on 23 December 2022). PM2.5 data are from the PM2.5 concentration data of Columbia University.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Atmosphere 14 00415 g001 550
Figure 1. Entropy statistics of the concentration of iron and steel industry locations in various provinces of China. (a) 2000, (b) 2006, (c) 2012, (d) 2018.
Figure 1. Entropy statistics of the concentration of iron and steel industry locations in various provinces of China. (a) 2000, (b) 2006, (c) 2012, (d) 2018.
Atmosphere 14 00415 g001
Atmosphere 14 00415 g002 550
Figure 2. Mechanism analysis of the relationship between industrial agglomeration, economic growth, and haze pollution.
Figure 2. Mechanism analysis of the relationship between industrial agglomeration, economic growth, and haze pollution.
Atmosphere 14 00415 g002
Table
Table 1. Statistical table of location entropy of each province in China.
Table 1. Statistical table of location entropy of each province in China.
Province Mean ± Standard Deviationt StatisticProvinceMean ± Standard Deviationt Statistic
Hebei3.2905 ± 0.574116.9278 ***Guangxi0.9434 ± 0.1399−1.7176
Tianjin2.1900 ± 0.167830.0909 ***Xinjiang0.8784 ± 0.1468−3.5142 ***
Shanxi1.9364 ± 0.47508.3635 ***Hunan0.7673 ± 0.0897−11.0044 ***
Liaoning1.9321 ± 0.126131.3567 ***Shandong0.7408 ± 0.0797−13.8017 ***
Inner Mongolia1.4198 ± 0.52643.3837 ***Jilin0.6867 ± 0.1512−8.7915 ***
Gansu1.3633 ± 0.104114.8102 ***Ningxia0.6841 ± 0.1376−9.7382 ***
Jiangsu1.2472 ± 0.097610.7485 ***Henan0.6204 ± 0.0306−52.6418 ***
Shanghai1.2071 ± 0.54981.5981 *Fujian0.5674 ± 0.0859−21.3528 ***
Hubei1.1944 ± 0.13096.3003 ***Chongqing0.5570 ± 0.1455−12.9195 ***
Beijing1.1614 ± 0.72670.9422Zhejiang0.4520 ± 0.0703−33.0737 ***
Guizhou1.0924 ± 0.21451.8269 **Tibet0.4066 ± 0.2412−10.4377 ***
Qinghai1.0862 ± 0.41990.8708Hainan0.3884 ± 0.1192−21.7632 ***
Sichuan1.0474 ± 0.21250.9461Sha’anxi0.3678 ± 0.0463−57.9002 ***
Yunnan1.0124 ± 0.17880.2952Guangdong0.3129 ± 0.0216−134.7225 ***
Anhui0.9809 ± 0.0592−1.3690 *Heilongjiang0.1832 ± 0.0372−93.0422 ***
Jiangxi0.9517 ± 0.1450−1.4133 *
Note: ***, **, and * mean significance at the levels of 0.01, 0.05, and 0.10, respectively.
Table
Table 2. Unit root test and cointegration test results of panel data.
Table 2. Unit root test and cointegration test results of panel data.
VariableStatistical IndexStatisticp Value
GDP Growth Rate~The Location Entropy of Industrial AgglomerationStatistic of LLV t−7.6866 ***0.0000
GDP Growth Rate~The Location Entropy of Industrial Agglomerationt Statistic of Kao Residual Test−3.5787 ***0.0000
Note: *** mean significance at the levels of 0.01, 0.05, and 0.10, respectively.
Table
Table 3. The panel regression results.
Table 3. The panel regression results.
Variable/Test Estimation Coefficient (Statistic)
Independent Variable:
Constant9.7166 (25.9013) ***
Industrial Agglomeration Index0.3885 (2.6595) ***
Control Variable:
Fixed-Asset-Investment Growth Rate0.1504 (10.9740) ***
Import and Export Growth Rate0.0166 (2.1490) **
Adjusted R20.7328
Joint Test (F Statistic)77.7822 ***
Hausman Test (Chi-Square Statistic) 34.9543 ***
Fixed Effect Test (F Statistic)37.0795 ***
Note: **, and *** mean significance at the levels of 0.01, 0.05, and 0.10, respectively.
Table
Table 4. Calculation results of spatial autoregression error model.
Table 4. Calculation results of spatial autoregression error model.
Variable/TestEstimated Coefficient (Statistic)
Constant2.4298 (9.0562) ***
Spatial Autoregression Index0.2361 (2.9010) ***
Spatial Error Index0.7880 (6.9354) ***
Control Variable:
GDP Growth Rate0.0510 (3.5240) ***
R20.3704
Spatial Autocorrelation Test (LM Statistic)956.0450 ***
Spatial Error Test (LM Statistic)944.7490 ***
Note: *** mean significance at the levels of 0.01, 0.05, and 0.10, respectively.
Table
Table 5. Unit root test and cointegration test results of panel data.
Table 5. Unit root test and cointegration test results of panel data.
VariableStatistical IndexStatisticp Value
Per Capita Fog-Haze Density~Location Entropy+ Green-Craft Innovation+ PrecipitationStatistic of LLV t−10.1180 ***0.0000
Per Capita Fog-Haze Density~Location Entropy+ Green-Craft Innovation+ PrecipitationPP Statistic of Pedroni Residual Test−7.2850 ***0.0000
Geographical Fog-Haze Density~Location Entropy+ Green-Craft Innovation+ PrecipitationStatistic of LLV t−9.6737 ***0.0000
Geographical Fog-Haze Density~Location Entropy+ Green-Craft Innovation+ Precipitationt Statistic of Kao Residual Test −8.4114 ***0.0000
Note: *** mean significance at the levels of 0.01, 0.05, and 0.10, respectively.
Table
Table 6. Panel regression calculation results.
Table 6. Panel regression calculation results.
Variable/TestPer Capita Fog-Haze DensityGeographical Fog-Haze Density
Independent Variable:
Constant64.1057 (8.5907) ***53.5293 (13.4513) ***
Industrial Agglomeration Index0.5890 (6.1178) ***0.4057 (2.6895) ***
Green-Craft Innovation2.8650 (6.1178) ***2.1303 (7.2736) ***
Precipitation−14.6391 (−16.1465) ***−11.7911 (−16.4773) ***
Control Variable:
GDP Growth Rate0.1911 (1.8478) *0.1546 (1.8314) *
Fixed-Asset-Investment Growth Rate0.0908 (1.8376) *0.1073 (1.8265) *
Population Density6.2522 (11.3075) ***5.4430 (15.5007) ***
Adjusted R20.50570.4098
Joint Test (F Statistic)99.2358 ***69.0420 ***
Hausman Test (Chi-Square Statistic)0.00000.0000
Fixed Effect Test (F Statistic)3.5613 ***2.5563 ***
Note: ***, and * mean significance at the levels of 0.01, 0.05, and 0.10, respectively.
Table
Table 7. Panel regression calculation results.
Table 7. Panel regression calculation results.
Variable/TestPer Capita Fog-Haze DensityGeographical Fog-Haze Density
Constant−80.4131 (−3.6500) ***−28.7369 (−1.3900)
Green-Craft Innovation 113.1318 (3.7400) ***5.0247 (1.5200)
Green-Craft Innovation 2−0.2952 (−2.1100) **−0.0150 (−0.1200)
R20.27850.2182
Note: ***, and ** mean significance at the levels of 0.01, 0.05, and 0.10, respectively.
Table
Table 8. Threshold estimation.
Table 8. Threshold estimation.
Dependent VariableThe Location Entropy of Industrial Agglomeration -Threshold 1The Location Entropy of Industrial Agglomeration -Threshold 2The Location Entropy of Industrial Agglomeration -Threshold 3
Per Capita Fog-Haze Density0.19061.10686.6819
Geographical Fog-Haze Density0.22160.85451.4046
Table
Table 9. Regression estimation results of threshold panel.
Table 9. Regression estimation results of threshold panel.
Variable/TestPer Capita Fog-Haze DensityGeographical Fog-Haze Density
Industrial Agglomeration Index
<Threshold 1−103.7251 (−3.7200) ***−69.7116 (−4.1300) ***
(Threshold 1, Threshold 2)11.8573 (5.6400) ***13.8774 (5.1300) ***
(Threshold 2, Threshold 3)4.5969 (5.3500) ***7.7958 (4.8700) ***
>=Threshold 31.6489 (2.7100) ***2.0453 (3.3700) ***
Constant54.8141 (6.8600) ***54.4353 (7.2000) ***
Independent Variable:
Green-Craft Innovation3.0946 (6.1900) ***2.0943 (4.2500) ***
Precipitation−13.5101 (−14.6600) ***−12.2837 (−14.2700) ***
Control Variable:
GDP Growth Rate0.1256 (0.8200)0.0487 (0.3300)
Fixed-Asset-Investment Growth Rate−0.1264 (−0.2300)0.0629 (0.1700)
Population Density5.3546 (9.34) ***5.1518 (9.1600) ***
R20.56720.4931
Joint Test (F Statistic)81.6800 ***60.6300 ***
Note: *** mean significance at the levels of 0.01, 0.05 and 0.10, respectively.
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Zhou, J.; Zhou, Y. Spatial Effect and Threshold Characteristics of China’s Iron and Steel Industrial Agglomeration on Fog-Haze Pollution. Atmosphere 2023, 14, 415. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14020415

AMA Style

Zhou J, Zhou Y. Spatial Effect and Threshold Characteristics of China’s Iron and Steel Industrial Agglomeration on Fog-Haze Pollution. Atmosphere. 2023; 14(2):415. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14020415

Chicago/Turabian Style

Zhou, Jingkun, and Yunkai Zhou. 2023. "Spatial Effect and Threshold Characteristics of China’s Iron and Steel Industrial Agglomeration on Fog-Haze Pollution" Atmosphere 14, no. 2: 415. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14020415

APA Style

Zhou, J., & Zhou, Y. (2023). Spatial Effect and Threshold Characteristics of China’s Iron and Steel Industrial Agglomeration on Fog-Haze Pollution. Atmosphere, 14(2), 415. https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos14020415

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