Will joint regional air pollution control be more cost-effective? An empirical study of China's Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

By following an empirical approach, this study proves that joint regional air pollution control (JRAPC) in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region will save the expense on air pollution control compared with a locally-based pollution control strategy. The evidences below were found. (A) Local pollutant concentration in some of the cities is significantly affected by emissions from their surrounding areas. (B) There is heterogeneity in the marginal pollutant concentration reduction cost among various districts as a result of the cities' varying contribution of unit emission reduction to the pollutant concentration reduction, and their diverse unit cost of emission reduction brought about by their different industry composition. The results imply that the cost-efficiency of air pollution control will be improved in China if the conventional locally based regime of air pollution control can shift to a regionally based one.